The Brandeis University Mock Trial Association will send a team to the national competition for a second consecutive year this weekend, club president Jeremy Widder '06 said.Several team members earned individual honors and one team won a spot at the national contest after victories at two regional competitions last month at Clark University and Princeton University, Widder said.

One of the three teams that competed at Clark qualified for the American Mock Trial Association National Tournament, which will be held this weekend in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Widder said he is satisfied with the team's performance and noted the rapid progress made by the five-year-old club.

"It's definitely a source of pride for me that we've come from where we were when I was a freshman," Widder said. "It makes me feel proud about where this program has grown over the last four years."

Widder, Sam Dewey '06, and Prerna Bhargava '07 prosecuted for the qualifying team, while James Keith '06, Dan Newman '09, Rachel Kagan '09, Robert Gusrae '09 and Alice Ittelson '09 served as witnesses.

Dewey won an individual award for best attorney and Keith won for best witness. Marissa Goodman '09, Daniel Solely '09 and Ana Grossman '09, who competed on non-qualifying teams, also garnered best witness awards.