BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Mock Trial Team has won bids to defend its national tournament title.

The UAB team, which won the 2006 American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) National Mock Trial Tournament, fielded two squads that competed in AMTA Mid-Southern Regional Competition this month at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky. Teams had to place fifth or better to advance from regional to a national competition venue. The UAB Green Squad won the competition with a perfect 8-0 record. The UAB Gold Squad placed third.

In addition, Green Squad team captain Elizabeth Blair won Best Attorney. Jade Delisle and Jared Barron won Best Witness awards. The regional competition included 14 teams from nine colleges and universities representing Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio. The Gold Squad will advance to Northwestern University March 16-18. The Green Squad will compete for the National Championship at Stetson University April 13-15. If the Gold Squad places first or second place at Northwestern, the squad will join the Green Squad at the national championship tournament at Stetson University in April.

This is the fourth time in the UAB Mock Trial Team’s 12-year history of competing in AMTA competitions that both squads have earned bids to compete nationally, said the team’s coach, John Grimes, J.D.