WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Jan. 9, 2019) – The 13th-ranked William & Mary men's gymnastics team will begin its 2019 slate when it travels to the West Point Open hosted by 15th-ranked Army this weekend.
The two-day event will get underway with the team finals and all-around individual finals at Christl Arena on Friday at 7 p.m., while the individual event finals will follow on Saturday at 7 p.m. The individual finals will feature the top eight scorers in each event (with no more than three competitors per team).
In addition to W&M and the host Black Knights, the meet will include No. 8 Penn State, No. 10 Navy, No. 16 Springfield and No. 19 Temple.
A LOOK AT THE NO. 13 TRIBE
Having earned an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) title and a runner-up finish during the past two seasons, the William & Mary men's gymnastics team enters the 2019 campaign eager to build upon the program's recent success.
Head Coach
Mike Powell's talented squad is highlighted by the return of eight standouts who competed as individual qualifiers at the NCAA Championships last season. Also bolstering the roster will be the addition of six newcomers who will push for lineup spots in various events.
Leading the Tribe toward its pursuit of a conference title and NCAA Championships bid is a trio of senior captains –
David Allen,
Jacopo Gliozzi and
David Watkins – who have all distinguished themselves as athletes in the gym, students in the classroom and volunteers in the community.
The Tribe's slate features eight regular-season competitions and is highlighted by three home meets at Kaplan Arena.
A look at this year's squad is available below or by
clicking here.
SCOUTING NO. 8 PENN STATE
After finishing the 2018 campaign with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, Penn State enters the season ranked No. 8 in the College Gymnastics Association preseason poll. The Nittany Lions are led by Stephen Nedoroscik, the reigning back-to-back NCAA Champion on pommel horse, and Brennan Pantazis, who won the NCAA floor title last season. Sam Zzkutney has also come up big for PSU with two All-America honors on parallel bars and one on high bar.
SCOUTING NO. 10 NAVY
Having won two ECAC titles during the last three years, including last season, Navy enter the 2019 campaign ranked 10th nationally – the program's highest preseason ranking in school history. Leading the Mids will be a trio of standouts who earned all-conference honors last season: Lucas Beltran (vault), Ben Provost (high bar) and David Toussaint (PH).
SCOUTING NO. 15 ARMY
Ranked 15th nationally, Army will look to improve upon its third-place finish in the ECAC last season. Led by senior captains James Gamarra and Cole Casonva, the Black Knights return five gymnasts who qualified as individuals at last year's NCAA Championships. Casanova highlights that group of standouts, as he placed third in all-around and on parallel bars at the 2018 ECAC Championship.
SCOUTING NO. 16 SPRINGFIELD
Springfield owns a No. 16 preseason national ranking and will look to overcome the loss of two of its top three overall scorers from 2018. Leading the group of returners is 2018 ECAC all-around champion, Stephen Lewis, who competed for Jamaica at the 2018 World Championships. Senior Jannik Hass also headlines the roster, as he qualified as an all-arounder at last season's NCAA Championships.
SCOUTING NO. 19 TEMPLE
No. 19 Temple will be without its top gymnast from last season, Joe Fernandes, but has bolstered its roster with the addition of Taden Thurber and Ben Ewing. With a goal of qualifying for the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championship as a team, the Owls' individual efforts will likely be highlighted by Toby Warren on floor.
| Matchup At A Glance* |
|
William & Mary |
Army |
Navy |
Penn State |
Springfield |
Temple |
| National Ranking |
13th |
15th |
10th |
8th |
16th |
20th |
| Team NQA |
394.025 |
392.113 |
401.55 |
407.038 |
383.35 |
192.863 |
| Floor NQA |
67.575 |
66.975 |
67.513 |
69.5 |
64.85 |
29.763 |
| Pommel NQA |
63.438 |
63.875 |
65.388 |
66.963 |
60.85 |
38.888 |
| Rings NQA |
66.75 |
64.163 |
66.225 |
69.075 |
63.55 |
33.525 |
| Vault NQA |
69.288 |
69.275 |
70.8 |
70.463 |
68.15 |
46.6 |
| Parallel Bars NQA |
65.15 |
64.888 |
65.438 |
68.288 |
65.363 |
61.45 |
| High Bar NQA |
63.936 |
65.338 |
67.563 |
66.313 |
62.388 |
17.363 |
| *Indicates 2018 Stats |
W&M INDIVIDUALS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS (Top 30)*
*Indicates 2018 Stats
Jacopo Gliozzi
Pommel Horse – 18th (13.1)
Tomas Palma
Vault – 24th (14.05)
Floor – 27
th (13.575)
LOOK BACK AT THE 2018 WEST POINT OPEN
Penn State claimed the West Point Open team title last season with a 406.85 and was followed by Navy (395.05), Army (380.35), W&M (378.3), Springfield (369.25) and Temple (223.05). Individually,
Jeremiah McReynolds led the Tribe by winning the rings title (13.5), while
Juan Palma and
Jacopo Gliozzi placed third on vault and pommel horse, respectively.
GLIOZZI POSTS IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE AT 2018 TURNIER DER MEISTER WORLD CUP
Competing on the international stage against many of the world's elite gymnasts, senior
Jacopo Gliozzi posted an impressive performance at the 2018 Turnier Der Meister World Cup in Cottbus, Germany in November. A member of the Italian team, Gliozzi placed 10th on pommel horse in the qualifying round with a score of 13.933 at the prestigious FIG (International Gymnastics Federation) World Cup event. The impressive performance earned him points toward qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
GLIOZZI, MAKEY HONORED AS PHI BETA KAPPA INITIATES
Jacopo Gliozzi and
Peter Makey were selected as initiates to the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Society during the fall. Gliozzi also earned the Ann Callahan Chappell Award, which is given to the most outstanding PBK initiate. Founded on December 5, 1776, The Phi Beta Kappa Society is the nation's oldest, largest and most prestigious academic honor society. It has chapters at 286 colleges and universities in the United States, 50 regional alumni associations, and more than half a million members worldwide. Noteworthy members include 17 U.S. Presidents, 39 Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States and more than 130 Nobel Laureates.
TRADITION OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
W&M earned the program's ninth College Gymnastics Association National Academic team title after posting a combined grade point average of 3.531 last season. In addition to claiming four of the last five team titles, the Tribe's impressive overall total is more than any other program since the inception of the award in 1991. The success continues a long-standing tradition of excellence in the classroom by Tribe men's gymnasts, as the program won the national academic team titles in 1991, 1992, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018, while placing second six times (1994, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2013). Additionally, W&M has finished third on four occasions (1999, 2006, 2011, 2017). Tribe gymnasts also continue to lead the nation with more individual All-America Scholar-Athlete honors than any other program in men's gymnastics. In total, 83 Tribe gymnasts have combined to earn 215 All-American Scholar-Athlete honors.
NEXT UP
W&M will return to action when it competes at the Navy Open next Saturday at 2 p.m.
