The Barking Bulldogs Debate Team competed in Utah last weekend where the team of Irvin Alvarado and Jason Auro defeated three Weber State teams and an Emporia State team leaving the ‘Dogs undefeated in the open varsity division.

The wins come after Fresno State won first place at the 7th annual Golden Gate Regional Opener held at San Francisco State University the previous weekend, a small district tournament in which they competed against schools in its debate district and won in all three divisions.

Debate coach Deven Cooper said because Fresno State is in a region where it has difficult competitors like Stanford, Pepperdine, USC and UC Berkeley, it’s very important to win a competition like this.

“Because we are able to win those type of competitions and maintain part of our ranking you know, it puts Fresno State on the map,” Cooper said.

Prior to Cooper’s arrival, Fresno State was unranked. However, since Cooper started coaching last year, Fresno State has ranked first in the district and 18th in the nation.

The team has attended three tournaments, so far, and are prepping for a Las Vegas tournament coming up in two weeks. It will determine some of their seedings within the region.

Alvarado, a sophomore and first-year debater, said the team had a budget cut and has had a minimal amount of money for travel. He said it is very important that the team show the Fresno State administration, and other schools in the district, that Fresno State debate is competitive and needs to survive.

“Jason Auro and I are in the open varsity division and made it all the way to the finals and won the tournament on a co-decision,” Alvarado said. ­“We felt it was important to be in a school political climate where the school feels like the team can survive with such little money, to show them we matter, that we are here and we are doing something.”

In the beginning of the year, there is a process that occurs in which the debaters are assigned affirmative or negative stances, giving them opportunities to learn skills like advocating for themselves, being able to research, being able to communicate effectively and learning how to strategize anything that is put in front of them.

“That’s one of the major things we learn in debate, is how to think on your feet and how to analyze arguments, and how to break them down,” Cooper said. ­“So I think those are some of the most effective things we have been teaching our students to do, and it’s really beneficial.”