ANN ARBOR, Mich. (April 10, 2014)—The No. 12 William and Mary men's gymnastics team placed sixth in the first session of competition at the NCAA Championships hosted by the University of Michigan on Thursday afternoon.
Oklahoma totaled the top score with a 440.0 and was followed by Stanford (433.55), Illinois (432.85), Iowa (425.95), California (425.7) and W&M (415.35).
Individually, senior Landon Funiciello advanced to tomorrow's round of competition on rings and parallel bars, while sophomore Neal Courter and senior Sam Patterson qualified on vault and parallel bars, respectively. Funiciello is a two-time NCAA All-American on rings and placed second in the event last year, while Courter garnered NCAA All-America distinction on vault when he finished third as a freshman.
The top 10 qualifiers on each event during Friday's session will advance to the individual event finals on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Prior to the first day of competition on Thursday, the NCAA recognized the nation's top gymnasts and coaches and the Tribe was well represented. Funiciello was honored as a finalist for the Nissen Emery Award, while head coach Cliff Gauthier and assistant coach Pete Walker were chosen as the East Region Head Coach of the Year and East Region Assistant Coach of the Year, respectively.
W&M opened the meet on high bar where it earned a 68.15, as junior Michael Deitz recorded the team's top score with a 13.95.
The College then moved to floor where it totaled a 70.15 and was led by Courter's mark of 14.9.
Sophomore Keaton Ackerman posted the Tribe's best score on pommel horse (14.2) and helped the squad tally a 68.2.
Funiciello placed second among all competitors in the session on rings with a 15.65, as the Green and Gold registered a 68.85 in the event.
W&M posted its best team score of the afternoon on vault (72.1), as Courter placed tied for third among all competitors in the session with a 15.15. Senior Daniel Potemski also performed well and nearly advanced to tomorrow's round of competition with a 14.65.
Both Funiciello (14.75) and Patterson (14.6) posted qualifying scores on parallel bars and helped the Tribe total a 67.9 in the event.
Potemski was the Tribe's lone all-arounder, and he placed sixth with a score of 83.5.
