Feb. 28, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - After winning the All-Academy Championship two weeks ago, the Navy gymnastics team (8-3) will host William & Mary (3-3) in Macdonough Hall on Friday night at 7 p.m.

The Midshipmen come into Friday's dual meet ranked 14th nationally with a three-score mark of 336.833, while the Tribe own the nation's 13th-highest three-score average of 337.633. The two teams have met on one previous occasion this winter, with Navy topping William & Mary, 336.9-333.1, in the Navy Open on Jan. 26.

Prior to its idle weekend last week, Navy claimed its first All-Academy Championship with a team score of 330.85 points, 8.05 higher than second-place Air Force and 13.15 better than third-place Army, who it defeated one week before to claim the N-Star.

With less than a point separating Navy and William & Mary in the national rankings, several events are expected to be very closely contested on Friday night. Navy owns a higher three-score average on the floor exercise (57.467-57.383), still rings (56.033-55.583) and high bar (56.133-55.183), while William & Mary owns higher marks on the pommel horse (54.033-53.5), vault (60.183-60.1) and parallel bars (55.867-55.467).

Heading into the week, Navy owns the ECAC's highest individual three-score average in three events and nine of the top-five marks among the six events and all-around competition.

Navy's highest individual ranked gymnast coming into the week is Brandon Cook (Sr./Longmont, Colo.) on the floor exercise. His three-score average of 15.167 ranks 13th in the nation and is tops among all competitors in the ECAC. Cook's 15.55-point average on the vault ranks him second in the conference. The Navy senior could expect some solid competition on the floor exercise, as William & Mary's Dave Locke ranks third in the ECAC with a 14.95 average.

A pair of Colorado natives, Adam Stanton (Jr./Centennial, Colo.) and Joseph Atzenbeck (Jr./Broomfield, Colo.) ranks among the conference's top-five performers on the pommel horse. Stanton's 14.383 three-score average is tops in the ECAC and 14th nationally, while Atzenbeck's 13.883 mark places him fifth in the East.

Two-time ECAC Rookie of the Week Dylan Parrott (Fr./Rockwell, N.C.) leads Navy in the all-around with a three-score ranking of 83.417 points, good for 18th-best in the nation and fifth in the ECAC. Parrott also ranks among the conference's top-five gymnasts on the floor exercise (14.683 points, fourth) and parallel bars (14.083 points, fifth).

Fellow All-around gymnast Christopher Tam (Sr./Draper, Utah) leads all gymnasts in the ECAC with a 14.55 average on the high bar, which ranks him 17th in the country. Tam's 14.283-point average on the still rings is fifth best in the conference, while his 82.65-point mark in the all-around ranks as eighth highest in the East.

Following this Friday's action, the Midshipmen will head up to University Park, Pa., on Saturday, March 8, for a tri-meet with Penn State and William & Mary.