Annapolis,
Md. - The College of William and Mary's 15th-ranked
men's gymnastics squad avenged its season opening loss at Navy by upending the
hosting 14th-ranked Midshipmen, 332.4 to 329.4 Sunday afternoon in
Annapolis.
The Tribe
improved its season record to 3-3 with the win.
Coming into
the afternoon's last rotation, the College found itself trailing in the meet by
.3 points. Needing a big performance from its parallel bar crew, the
Tribe received its best team event effort of the season, as five of the six
gymnasts set personal records or season highs. William and Mary swept the
top four spots on the event, led by sophomore Vince Smurro's personal best
14.5. Freshman Daniel Potemski (14.3) and senior co-captain Andy Hunter
(14.2) rounded out the top three.
The Tribe was
similarly dominant on the rings and pommel horse, as they swept the top three
positions on each discipline. Hunter earned the gold on the pommel, with
a mark of 13.8, while Potemski and sophomore Futa Ikeda placed second and
third, respectively, with scores of 13.7 and 13.4. The Tribe ring
crew claimed the event's top five positions, with freshman Landon Funiciello
putting together the evening's best set, earning a mark of 14.5. Junior Steve
Deutsch (13.7) finished second, while Hunter placed third (13.6).
Smurro was
the team's top performer on the parallel bars, with a mark of 14.4, while
senior co-captain Dave Ellis also had a strong effort, finishing fifth overall
with a score of 14.1.
Potemski also
claimed a second on the vault event, with a season-best effort of 15.3, but it
was junior Dan Melzar who may have claimed the performance of the event for the
College. Competing in the crucial sixth and final position, Melzar came
through in the clutch with a personal best score of 14.9 to place third
overall.
The Tribe's next action
will come next weekend, as it will host Navy in William and Mary's Kaplan Arena
for a dual meet. The event is schedule to start at 3 p.m.
