The UNLV debate team won its second consecutive tournament earlier this month at the Arizona State University Fiesta Classic.

Junior Rick Kimbrough and senior Steve Robertson won top honors at the tournament, defeating Southern Utah University in the final round. Robertson also placed eighth in the tournament as an individual speaker.

At the same tournament sophomores Tonna Purtle and Mercedes McGill placed third. Purtle was ranked as the sixth best speaker at the tournament, while McGill was ranked seventh.

In November, the debate team, led by Kimbrough and Robertson, won the California State University-Northridge Epicenter Classic.

The wins in California and Arizona mark the first time UNLV has won back-to-back tournaments, according to Barbara Pickering, UNLV's director of forensics.

"This is an unprecedented victory for the UNLV program," Pickering said. "The forensics and debate program has accomplished many things during my tenure, but this is one of the most impressive achievements."