Jan. 25, 2007

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - After defeating defending EIGL-champion William & Mary and James Madison two weeks ago, the Navy gymnastics team will travel to the West Point Open at the Holleder Center on Friday and Saturday.

The team and all-around competition opens the event on Friday at 7 p.m., with the top-eight performers in each of the six disciplines advancing to the individual event finals on Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Midshipmen will be competing against nine-time and defending West Point Open-champion Penn State, Army, James Madison, MIT, Springfield and Temple, along with several club teams from around the region. At last season's West Point Open, Navy finished fourth of seven collegiate teams with a team tally of 196.6 points.

Looking to lead the Mids this weekend is EIGL and NCAA/USAG Collegiate Division National Gymnast of the Week Christopher Tam (Draper, Utah). Tam won the all-around during the Navy Open with a tally of 50.7 points, the third-highest mark in his career, and ranks him sixth nationally. The Navy junior also ranks sixth in the country on the high bar with his 8.9-point effort two weeks ago and 12th nationally on the vault with his score of 8.8. He placed among the top-three competitors in five of the six events and scored higher than an 8.0 in all-six disciplines.

The Midshipmen own the highest mark in the nation on the vault with its score of 35.25 points, highlighted by the country's highest-scorer, junior Brandon Cook (Longmont, Colo.). He earned a 9.1 from the judges for the top-collegiate mark and also won the floor exercise with a score of 8.95, just outside the top-20 national performers in that event.

Sophomore Ken Lee (Rockville, Md.) ranks 12th on the vault courtesy of his 8.8-point showing during the Navy Open. Lee competed in all-six events for the first time in his career in that meet, accumulating an all-around score of 46.6.

Rounding out Navy's nationally-ranked gymnasts is sophomore Joseph Atzenbeck (Broomfield, Colo.), who owns the eighth-best mark on the high bar. Atzenbeck earned an 8.85 from the judges to finish second in the Navy Open.

After this weekend's competition, Navy (2-0) travels to the James Madison Invitational in Harrisonburg, Va., on Saturday, Feb. 3.