Navy Sports

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 9:02pm

By BILL WAGNER, Staff Writer
Published January 31, 2008

WASHINGTON - American has been a major nemesis for the Navy men’s basketball team over the past years. Going into last night’s meeting, the Eagles had won 20 of the last 22 against the Midshipmen dating back to 1988. Navy has struggled mightily when playing at American, losing six straight games by an average of 12.2 points at Bender Arena.

Senior Greg Sprink poured in a career-high 36 points last night as Navy exorcised several demons by beating American 77-66 before 1,012 at Bender Arena. Sprink did most of his damage from the charity stripe, draining 17 of 18 free throws.

Sophomore point guard Chris Harris added 15 points for the Midshipmen, who beat the Eagles for only the second time since the two schools joined the Patriot League. It also marked the Mids’ first win in D.C. since 1991.

“This was a monumental win for our program. To beat American here is part of it, but the attitude and the way we did it was most important,” Navy head coach Billy Lange said. “I just thought our team attitude tonight was tremendous.”

Navy played with a purpose from start to finish, grabbing an early six-point lead and controlling play throughout. American was ahead for a mere 42 seconds the entire game. Sprink scored 13 of the final 17 points as the Midshipmen steadily pulled away in the final three minutes.

“I’m very proud of our guys, very proud. Our resiliency was the key tonight the whole game,” Lange said. “I thought we showed great toughness and determination.”

Sprink was coming off a difficult outing against archrival Army, making just 6 of 18 shots in a two-point loss. He committed a major gaffe by attempting a difficult dunk instead of an easy layup and committing a turnover instead of scoring two points.

“I think this game was important to Greg. I thought he had good focus, played with good passion and showed good leadership,” Lange said.

Sprink has now scored 20 points or more in seven straight games, the first time a Navy player has accomplished that feat since the legendary David Robinson in 1987. The 6-foot-5 native of California is now averaging 28.2 points in Patriot League games.

“It feels good to have a big night, but what’s most important is that we got a big win and bounced back from the loss to Army,” Sprink said. “We wanted to come out tonight and prove that’s not who we are, that’s not the team we want to be. We came out defensively as a unit, as one. That’s something Coach Lange has been preaching and tonight we put it together.”

Navy did indeed play tough defense, limiting American to 38 percent field goal shooting for the game and forcing 17 turnovers. The Eagles entered the game ranked first in the Patriot League in fewest turnovers per game.

“The difference between tonight and the last two weeks was our defense. I thought tonight was the best defense we’ve played since Mount St. Mary’s (Dec. 3). I thought our defense was tremendous tonight,” Lange said.

“We take great pride in forcing turnovers and it was big that we were able to do that against a team that takes such good care of the ball. It was also important that we didn’t turn it over,” added Lange, whose squad equaled a season-low with just eight turnovers.

Junior guard Kaleo Kina had a solid all-around floor game for Navy with seven points, five rebounds, four assists and only one turnover. Freshman forward Romeo Garcia contributed seven points, four rebounds and two blocked shots for the Mids, who improved to 10-11 overall and 3-3 in the Patriot League.

Backup forward Brian Gilmore scored 16 points to lead American (11-10, 3-3), which rallied from a six-point deficit to take a 37-35 lead at halftime. The Eagles were ahead briefly on two occasions in the opening three minutes of the second half before the Mids used an 8-2 run to take the lead for good.

Hard-working forward Travis Lay narrowly missed a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds for American, which stayed within striking distance until the waning minutes. The Eagles trailed by five points with 2:27 remaining, but failed to score on their next four possessions. Sprink made 4 of 4 free throws as the Mids stretched the advantage to 15 points with 1:07 left.

This was the same American team that went into the Comcast Center in December and shocked Maryland, 67-59.

“This was probably our worst performance of the season, but give credit to Navy,” American coach Jeff Jones said. "Navy outplayed us for 40 minutes. They were the aggressor, they were the team with energy. We were never able to get control of the game.

Lange used more reserves than usual last night and that helped keep Navy fresh. Junior guard Bryce Brigham and sophomore guard Derek Young, both of whom served suspensions for violation of team rules, played for the first time since Dec. 3. Sophomore forward T.J. Topercer, who has not played in five of the last six games, logged 12 minutes.

Brigham dove on the floor for a loose ball and wound up forcing a held ball that resulted in a Navy possession. Topercer calmly nailed a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:43 remaining while Young provided some tough defense.

“We wanted to lengthen our bench because some guys have been logging a lot of minutes and those guys have been practicing well,” Lange said of his decision to suddenly use Brigham, Topercer and Young.

NAVY 77, AMERICAN U. 66

NAVY (10-11)

Veazey 2-4 0-0 4, Sprink 8-18 17-18 36, Harris 5-11 2-2 15, Garcia 2-4 2-2
7, Kina 3-8 1-1 7, Young 0-0 0-0 0, Colbert 0-2 0-0 0, Brigham 0-0 0-0 0,
Topercer 1-2 0-0 3, Richards 0-2 0-0 0, Teague 1-6 2-4 5. Totals 22-57 24-27 77.

AMERICAN U. (11-10)

Simon 0-2 0-0 0, Lay 6-9 3-4 15, Guibunda 1-3 2-2 4, Mercer 3-9 0-0 8, Carr 3-14 2-2 11, Gilmore 6-13 3-4 16, Borden 1-2 0-0 3, Hendra 3-8 0-3 6, Luptak 1-2 0-0 3, Nichols 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-63 10-15 66.

Halftime-American U. 37-35. 3-Point Goals-Navy 9-26 (Sprink 3-7, Harris 3-9, Topercer 1-1, Garcia 1-1, Teague 1-6, Kina 0-2), American U. 8-24 (Carr 3-10, Mercer 2-3, Borden 1-1, Luptak 1-1, Gilmore 1-5, Hendra 0-2, Simon 0-2). Fouled Out-Hendra. Rebounds-Navy 31 (Kina, Teague 5), American U. 47 (Lay 9). Assists-Navy 10 (Kina 4), American U. 12 (Gilmore 4). Total Fouls-Navy 19, American U. 23. Technicals-Sprink, Gilmore. A-1,012.

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 9:03pm

For Immediate Release
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Navy Hosts Army in Star Meet on Saturday

ANNAPOLIS, Md. The Navy mens track & field team will host its final indoor home meet of the year this Saturday when Army comes down to Annapolis for the annual Star Meet. The meet gets underway at 11 a.m. with the weight throw at Ingram Field, with the action in Halsey Field House starting with the pole vault and long jump at 11:30 a.m.

Saturdays Star Meet represents the final mens competition in Halsey Field House, which has served as the home of the Navy indoor track & field program since 1957. Next year, the Midshipmen will move into the 140,000-square-foot, $45 million Wesley Brown Field House. The new home to the Navy indoor track & field program will feature a 200-meter hydraulic banked track, 60-meter straightaway, dual pole vault/jumping runways, dual throwing areas and a scenic view of the Severn River.

Navy has won each of the last indoor Star Meets against Army, the longest streak in program history, and nine of the last-ten indoor meetings. Last year, the Midshipmen won every running event between the 500-meter and 3,000-meter distances to claim a 95-86 victory over the Black Knights in West Point. With the help of their current winning streak, the Mids own a 24-22-2 all-time advantage over their service academy rival.

Coming into the indoor slate, Navy and Army were picked to finish tied for first in this years Patriot League Championship. The two teams combined to receive all of the leagues 16 first-place votes in the preseason poll.

Navy enters the weekend with a 6-1 record in scored meets, while Army will be competing in a dual-scored meet for the first time this season.

Last weekend, the Midshipmen produced several stellar performances at the highly contested Penn State National Open. Navy won three events (distance medley relay, 800-meter run and mile run) and totaled nine IC4A-qualifying performances over the two-day competition. For the year, Navy has racked up 17 IC4A Championship entries among 12 different events.

Paul Harris (Sr./Fairburn, Ga.) became the first runner in Patriot League indoor history to claim the leagues track athlete-of-the-week award on Tuesday. Last weekend, Harris produced the nations second-fastest time in the 800-meter run with a NCAA Championship provisional qualifying mark of 1:49.29. The effort was just 0.01-second shy of matching Alex McClarys national best time of 1:49.28 with Arkansas. Harris also served on the first-place distance medley relay team that delivered a time of 9:52.52 and the second-place 4x400-meter relay that finished in 3:15.27, both IC4A qualifying times.

Andrew Hanko (Fr./Montville, N.J.) qualified for the IC4A Championship in a second event this season last Saturday when he won the mile run with an impressive time of 4:09.99. He finished 3.68 seconds ahead of second-place runner Stephen Krauss time from Army. For his efforts, Hanko was recognized as the Patriot League Rookie of the Week.

Throwers Darryl Hunter (Sr./Des Moines, Iowa) and Christopher Bordino (Jr./Gastonia, N.C.) both have regularly surpassed the IC4A standard this winter. Hunter has come away victorious three times in the shot put and passed the IC4A distance in all four of meets during his senior campaign. Two weeks ago in Annapolis, Hunter uncorked an indoor career-best toss of 5511 (17.04 meters). Bordino has improved on his previous weeks effort in the weight throw in back-to-back weeks, setting a new personal record. Last weekend, he recorded an impressive distance of 576-1/4 (17.53 meters).

The Midshipmen will close out their indoor regular season on Feb. 15-16, when they head to Ames, Iowa, to compete in the Iowa State Classic.

GreatAmerican · January 31, 2008, 9:04pm

For Immediate Release
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Navy Aims for N-Star on Saturday Against Army

ANNAPOLIS, Md. The Navy womens track & field team will host its final indoor home meet of the year this Saturday when Army makes the trek down to Annapolis for the annual Star Meet. The meet gets underway at 9:30 a.m. with the weight throw at Ingram Field, with the action in Halsey Field House starting with four events at 2:10 p.m.

Saturdays Star Meet represents the final Army-Navy womens competition in Halsey Field House, which has served as the home of the Navy indoor track & field program since its inception in 1981. Next year, the Midshipmen will move into the 140,000-square-foot, $45 million Wesley Brown Field House. The new home to the Navy indoor track & field program will feature a 200-meter hydraulic banked track, 60-meter straightaway, dual pole vault/jumping runways, dual throwing areas and a scenic view of the Severn River.

Army may be leading the all-time series with Navy, 11-9-1, but the Midshipmen have had significant success against their service academy foe this decade. Navy has won seven of the last-nine indoor Star Meets, including a four-meet winning streak in Annapolis. Last year on the banks of the Hudson, the Midshipmen won 12 of the 17 events to post an impressive 107-73 victory over the Black Knights.

Navy enters the weekend with a perfect 6-0 record in dual-scored meets, while Army will be competing in a dual-meet for the first time this season. The Midshipmen have not lost a dual-scored meet since the 2004-05 indoor season, a streak of 51-straight victories. Navy will also look to extend its indoor home winning streak of 67 triumphs on Saturday, one that dates back to Jan. 8, 2000.

At the beginning of the indoor campaign, Navy was picked to finish second in the Patriot League, one spot ahead of third-place Army. Outside of preseason league-favorite and defending champion Bucknell, the Midshipmen were the only other team to earn first-place votes. The Mids collected six of the 16 first-place ballots in December.

Expected to be one of the strongest areas for the Midshipmen this Saturday will be the pole vault. Jacqui Charnigo (Sr./Medina, Ohio), the ECAC and Patriot League Field Athlete of the Week, provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship last Saturday at the Patriot Games with an indoor school-record height of 1211-1/2 (3.95 meters). She then went on to try for automatic qualification for the national championship at 139-1/4 (4.20 meters) and nearly surpassed the mark on her second try, just clipping the bar on the way up. Jessica Schlaegel (So./Nashport, Ohio) provides quality depth in the event, as she currently ranks fourth in the Patriot League with a height of 108 (3.25 meters).

Charnigo will also be counted on to contribute in the high jump, alongside Katie Berkey (Jr./Tempe, Ariz.). The Navy duo both cleared 54-1/4 (1.63 meters) last weekend to place second in the event and rank fourth in the league.

On the track, the Midshipmen will count of the services of its middle distance/distance corps of runners to provide significant scoring. Vicki Moore (Sr./Burke, Va.) owns the teams top time in both the 800-meter (2:18.14) and 1,000-meter (2:59.47) events. Each of those performances ranks among the leagues top-four runners this winter. Abby Gesecki (So./Nanticoke, Pa.) owns a 2:23.17 clocking in the 800-meter run and has seen action in the 500-meter run during her career.

Amy Watson (So./Hampstead, Md.), a First-Team All-Patriot League cross country runner, and Jenny Rubin (So./Papillion, Neb.) are among the leagues top-five runners in the 3,000-meter run this winter. At the Patriot Games last Saturday, Watson crossed the finish line in 10:15.81, while Rubin followed one place behind with a 10:24.15 showing.

Following this weekends action, Navy will host its final meet in Halsey Field House on Feb. 14, when it hosts Loyola (Md.) to close out its indoor regular season.

TXinAK · January 31, 2008, 9:47pm

<a href=“Real Estate – Capital Gazette”>Real Estate – Capital Gazette;

My brother sent me this link (the article is about his fiance)

GreatAmerican · February 2, 2008, 9:24pm

Source of inspiration: Injured soldier produces Giant emotions Garber

By Greg Garber

(Archive)

Updated: January 31, 2008

PHOENIX – To date, the United States has 3,940 confirmed deaths in Iraq. Back in May, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson, a battalion leader, very nearly found himself on that list. An IED (improvised explosive device) thoroughly shattered his body. Only 70 pints of blood, the exceptional field work of men in his 1st Infantry Division and the skill of doctors saved his life.

His legs weren’t so fortunate.

The New York Giants, however, consider themselves blessed to have made this double-amputee’s acquaintance. They credit Gadson, who played football at Army with New York wide receivers coach Mike Sullivan, with helping to salvage their season and making it something approaching superb. His stirring pregame speeches and his living example of courage and perseverance have inspired them all the way to Super Bowl XLII.

“I think sometimes I’m given a little too much credit for, quote, being inspirational,” Gadson said on Monday in an interview at Walter Reed National Army Medical Center in Washington. “I may be, and if people take inspiration from that I’m glad and I’m grateful. But at the same time, I think I’m just trying to fight, and I’m trying to survive.”

Even so, the Giants have won an NFL-record 10 consecutive road games, including three in the playoffs, leading up to Sunday’s game against the Patriots. They believe Gadson has been a significant factor in that success.

“Coaches and everybody always want to say football is like war, it’s a battle – no,” Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols last week. "This guy, he lives in the real war, the real battle. He knows what it’s like to hear bombs and stuff going off.

“We’re playing a kids’ game, trying to have fun. He put that in perspective: Enjoy life, enjoy the moment, enjoy what you’re doing, because it’s rougher out there than what you really think it is.”

The story begins at West Point in the summer of 1985, when Gadson first met Sullivan. Gadson was an outside linebacker, viewing his responsibilities in terms of territory; the perimeter could not be exploited. Sullivan was a defensive back.

“Mike was a high-energy guy,” recalled Gadson, who was a three-year starter. “He had a great, positive spirit. He’s going to pick you up, and that’s what I respect and remember [of] him as a teammate.”

Over the years, they lost track of each other. After graduating from the U.S. Army Airborne, Ranger and Air Assault schools, Sullivan got into coaching. His first NFL assignment, as a Jacksonville Jaguars defensive assistant, came in 2002, in Tom Coughlin’s last season as Jacksonville head coach.

Gadson, meanwhile, was commissioned in time for the Gulf War – he was a platoon leader in an artillery battalion – and went on to serve in the Balkans and Afghanistan.

Gadson had been on the ground in Iraq for three months when he returned one night from a memorial service for two soldiers from his sister battalion. His vehicle was hit and with only 15 minutes left in the “golden hour” – the 60 minutes following a critical injury in which a person’s life often can be saved if proper care is administered – he arrived at the hospital.

Gadson’s life was indeed saved, but a week later, when his arteries began to deteriorate because of an infection, doctors amputated his left leg. One week after that, they took the right.

Sullivan, who had been in and out of touch with Gadson, came to visit him at Walter Reed in mid-June.

“It was very, very moving,” Sullivan said. “He was such an amazing player in college, fast and strong, and then you see someone in the chair, in a life-altering type of condition, it was tough to see. I went there to lift his spirits – and he lifted mine.”

Sullivan presented Gadson with a Giants jersey bearing his name and No. 98, his number at West Point. There was a helmet, a hat – and a reconnection. Sullivan asked him if there was anything he could do for him.

“Well,” Gadson said, “when you guys come to town, I would love to see you guys play.”

Before the Sept. 23 game at Washington, Sullivan mentioned Gadson to Coughlin.

“I have so much respect for those serving our country in Iraq,” Coughlin said. “He’s a real hero, he’s the real deal. This is a guy who’s given a tremendous sacrifice of himself so we can sleep under the blanket of freedom, so I wanted to meet this guy.”

On a Saturday night at the Giants’ hotel, following the offense, defense and special-teams meetings, Sullivan introduced Gadson to the team.

“I talked to them about their gifts as athletes, and their privilege and special opportunity that they have,” Gadson said. "I told them that when you’re deployed, we’re fighting for our country and our flag and mom and dad and apple pie, but when it comes down to it, those things are the furthest thing from your mind.

“You’re fighting for that guy that is right next to you. Just like my soldiers, they came and fought for me and saved my life. I told them about the 18-year-old PFC medic that didn’t want me to lose consciousness. He’s yelling at me and just literally willing me to stay conscious and keep fighting.”

The Giants, to a man, were moved.

“I never remember a room being that quiet,” Sullivan said. “As the meeting broke, it was a standing ovation.”

Said Pierce, “It really put [things] into perspective for us, because at the time we were an 0-2 team, and we didn’t know which way we were going.”

The Giants’ defense had allowed a total of 80 points in their two previous losses, to Dallas and Green Bay, and they were trailing the Redskins 17-3 at halftime. But the Giants scored three unanswered touchdowns in the second half, the last one a 33-yard pass from Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress with 5:22 left.

Burress did not spike the ball. Instead, he sprinted to the Giants’ sideline and dropped it into the lap of Gadson, who was sitting in a wheelchair.

“That’s when,” Gadson said, “I became one of the Giants.”

The Giants’ season may well have swung on the final 51 seconds of that game. Washington had a first-and-goal at the Giants’ 1-yard line when quarterback Jason Campbell spiked the ball. The Giants stopped the Redskins on the next three plays to win the game.

“To see a guy fight in those circumstances, you really can’t help but give your best and give your all,” said defensive end Justin Tuck, who helped stop Redskins running back Ladell Betts on fourth down. “It kind of put us in that situation to stop taking things for granted. We really focused from that point on.”

The Giants won their last seven road games, then finished the regular season with a rousing home loss to the Patriots, 38-35. When the Giants arrived at the team hotel before the wild-card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the next week, Gadson was waiting for them in the lobby – and somehow, he was standing.

“It was just kind of a priceless moment for me,” Gadson said, “making eye contact with them.”

He had been fitted with prosthetic legs and, even though he had difficulty walking, was standing there, accepting hugs and handshakes. The younger players called him “sir,” but one veteran felt comfortable enough to chide him, “Hey, Greg, you look a lot taller now.”

“To see him taking a couple of steps was amazing,” cornerback Corey Webster said. “We were so happy for him.”

Gadson had hoped to attend the divisional playoff game in Dallas, but when doctors performed another operation on his legs, he wasn’t allowed to travel. When the Giants upset the Cowboys, the Giants named him an honorary captain for the NFC Championship Game at Green Bay, and he and his 13-year-old son, Jaelen, made the trip.

The wind chill was below zero, but Gadson didn’t want to watch the game from the warm suite the Giants had arranged for him.

“He wanted to be right out there on the front lines, so to speak,” Sullivan said. “You’d see players would go up to him and he’d look them right in the eye, and you could tell they were feeding off his courage and his inspiration.”

The game was in overtime when Webster intercepted Brett Favre’s pass at the Packers’ 34-yard line. That ball too was deposited in the hands of Gadson.

“I felt like he deserved the ball,” Webster said, “because he’s a big motivating factor for me, personally, and for the team.”

Four plays later, Lawrence Tynes kicked the winning field goal and, improbably, the Giants were on their way to Phoenix. Yes, of course, Gadson will be there. He has become part of the team. Burress, who also comes from the Tidewater region of Virginia, calls him regularly and exchanges text messages with him.

The Giants, substantial underdogs in Super Bowl XLII, have not lost a game when Gadson is on the sidelines. They would not be surprised if it happens again.

No matter the outcome, while the risks and results of war and the game of football are vastly different, Gadson said there are many parallels.

“In war, people’s lives are changed forever,” he said. "Everybody who knows me has been affected by the injuries, and I’m blessed to be alive. [But] as a football player, I had the same kind of commitment that I have as an Army officer and a soldier. Your mind does not distinguish between the commitment. The emotional, never-quit attitude, the fighting attitude is all the same.

“I don’t coach them. I don’t call plays. But I think that they represent themselves well. I’m very proud of them.”

Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 8:31pm

If it’s true that you can’t tell the players without a scorecard, then you certainly can’t follow Navy’s ice hockey team’s schedule without a large bottle of whiteout for your kitchen refrigerator calendar!

Following numerous schedule changes this past week, one thing is certain: The Midshipmen are hosting Lehigh in a non-league clash this Saturday (February 2) at 7:30 p.m. at the McMullen Hockey Arena in Annapolis.

Navy Hockey team officials moved the Lehigh game, which had been scheduled for next Wednesday, February 6, to this Saturday night to fill the void created when Drexel was forced to forfeit its home-and-home two game series with Navy this weekend.

The two Drexel forfeit wins will improve the Mids’ overall league record to 6-14-0, good for 12 points in the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) standings.

As things currently stand, the ESCHL post-season playoffs will follow a five-team, three-day format, noted league commissioner Brian Moran. Navy would meet Scranton on Friday, February 15 at 7:30 p.m. Two games would be played on Saturday, February 16: Rhode Island vs. Delaware at 3 p.m., followed by Penn State vs. the Navy-Scranton winner at 6 p.m. The winners of the two Saturday games would meet for the ESCHL championship on Sunday, February 17 at 1 p.m. All games will be played at the McMullen Hockey Arena.

But don’t write down that schedule in ink quite yet.

As this report is being written, it was not entirely out of the question that Drexel could be reinstated, thus making the Dragons eligible for the playoffs and creating a six-team format. Earlier this week, League Commissioner Moran rescinded last Friday’s ruling that only the top four teams would qualify; now it will definitely be a five- or six-team playoff.

A final decision on a possible Drexel reinstatement is expected no later than Monday, February 11.

Meantime, following this Saturday night’s meeting with Lehigh, Navy will be idle until next weekend (February 8-9), when the Mids host the 29th annual Crabpot Tournament. On Friday, February 8, Towson University will meet the University of Maryland at 4 p.m., followed by Navy vs. UMBC at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, February 9 the consolation game will be played at 4 p.m., followed by the championship game at 7:30 p.m.

It will mark the first time in the history of the three decades old tourney that all four teams are Maryland based. After years of discussion, Navy Hockey officials agreed the all-Maryland format will enable the Crabpot to follow more closely in the footsteps of the Beanpot Tournament in Boston, which served as the inspiration for the Crabpot event. The Beanpot tourney has always featured four Boston area hockey teams: Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, and Northeastern.

– Ray Feldmann

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 8:32pm

For Immediate Release
Sent Friday, Feb. 1, 2008
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772

Navy to Play Host to Five-Team Swimming & Diving Meet Saturday

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy swimming and diving teams will play host to the five-team Navy Invitational Saturday afternoon in Lejeune Hall. The 35-event meet between American, Bucknell, Lafayette, Virginia and the host Mids will begin at 12 Noon.

To help the athletes from the Patriot League teams prepare for the upcoming league championship to be held in Lejeune Hall, all swimming events Saturday will be contested in yards as opposed to the traditional metric distance meets the venue traditionally plays host to.

“With several teams coming to Lejeune Hall, we will take this opportunity to just get up and race,” said Navy men’s swimming head coach Bill Roberts. “It should be a fun and competitive meet on Saturday.”

“It is a good meet that allows us to start turning our focus towards the Patriot League Championship,” said Navy women’s head coach John Morrison. “We have some very talented athletes coming in Saturday, so we expect a fast and exciting meet.”

Navy and Lejeune Hall will play host to the Patriot League Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship Feb. 21-23.

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 8:33pm

For Immediate Release
Sent Friday, Feb. 1, 2008
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772

Patriot League Favorite Navy Tennis Team Home Saturday

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy tennis will continue its stretch of early season home matches Saturday when the Midshipmen play host to Howard and Villanova in the Brigade Sports Complex. Navy will face Howard at 12 Noon before taking on Villanova at 5 p.m.

“We are excited to play Howard and Villanova this weekend,” said Navy head coach John Officer. “We hope to
continue our winning ways. The keys for us this weekend are to compete hard for every point and take chances through our play.”

The Mids improved to 3-1 on the season with a pair of wins last week in the inaugural matches of their new home indoor facility. The day began with Navy posting a 6-1 win over Georgetown and concluded with the Mids recording a 5-0 victory over Mount St. Mary’s.

Highlighting the Navy-Georgetown results were a pair of wins by the Mids against regionally ranked players for the Hoyas. Navy’s No. 1 doubles team of Nate Nelms (Jr., St. Mary’s, Ga.) and Johnny Waters (Jr., Papillion, Neb.) posted an 8-3 win over Jeff Schnell and Kevin Walsh, the No. 13 doubles team in the Northeast Region, Nelms going on to record a 6-3, 6-2 win over Schnell at No. 1 singles. Nelms is ranked 24th in the region in singles, with Schnell ranked 25th.

Howard opened its season last week with a loss to 38th-ranked Old Dominion and will play at George Washington Friday before facing the Mids. Villanova, meanwhile, will open its spring season Saturday against Navy.

Navy recorded a 4-2 victory over Villanova last season. The Mids and the Bison did not play against each other during the 2007 season.

<hr>

Navy was tabbed as the pre-season favorite to win the 2008 Patriot League title, according to the voting conducted by the league’s coaches and sports information contacts. The Mids garnered 10 of the 14 first-place votes and totaled 70 points to finish first in the balloting. Army, who Navy defeated to win the 2007 league championship, received the remaining first-place nods and accrued 64 points to place second in the voting.

<ol>
<li>Navy - 70 points (10 first-place votes)</li>
<li>Army - 64 (4)</li>
<li>Bucknell - 48</li>
<li>Colgate - 44</li>
<li>Lehigh - 31</li>
<li>Lafayette - 25</li>
<li>Holy Cross - 12</li>
</ol>

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 8:35pm

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The annual Mascot Mayhem will take place on Saturday night during halftime of the Navy men’s basketball contest against Colgate. A total of 15 mascots will take the court, headlined by everyone’s favorite, Bill the Goat.

Fans can catch all the crazy antics and high-flying action on Saturday night, by purchasing tickets at 1-800-US4-NAVY or online at <a href=“http://www.navysports.com%5B/url%5D”>www.navysports.com</a>. Walk-up sales at the Alumni Hall ticket windows are also available.

In addition, the game is being promoted as Scout Night. Scouts of all ages are invited to attend the game at a discounted price and participate in the fun activities surrounding both games. Call (410) 293-8785 to reserve your tickets.

The Navy men’s basketball is currently 10-11 overall and 3-3 in the Patriot League, as it continues to make a push to the top of the Patriot League standings.

MASCOT MAYHEM ROSTERS

Blue Team Bill the Goat
McGruff the Crime Dog
The Green Turtle
Louie (Baysox)
Talon the Eagle (DC United)
Lugnut (Maryland International Raceway)
Geico the Gecko

Gold Team Sammie the Sea Otter (NFCU)
Snappy (Anne Arundel County Schools)
The Hampden Kid (Hampden Moving and Storage)
Doc (Towson University)
Puffin (National Aquarium)
OC BEE (Old Country Buffet)
Chick-Fil-A Cows (2)

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 8:36pm

For Immediate Release
Friday, February 1, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Mids to Face Temple and Ohio State on Saturday

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men’s gymnastics team will face some strong competition on Saturday when it heads up to McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia to take on Temple and Ohio State, beginning at 7 p.m. The Midshipmen (5-1) are ranked 11th nationally, while the host Owls (4-1) are ninth and the Buckeyes (3-4) own a seventh-place ranking.

Last weekend in Annapolis, Navy bested defending USAG Collegiate Division champion William & Mary and Springfield in the Navy Open. The Midshipmen rallied from a narrow deficit going into the final rotation to post a team score of 336.9 points, 3.8 better than William & Mary’s second-place 333.1-point tally.

Navy’s performance one week ago signified a 4.65-point improvement in its team score over the previous week’s action. The Midshipmen also boasted the highest team scores on the floor exercise (57.8 points), still rings (55.8 points) and parallel bars (56.65 points).

Coming into this Saturday’s tri-meet, the Mids are ranked among the nation’s top-11 teams in three events. Navy’s 55.5-point average on the high bar ranks 10th, while its 56.65-point mark on the floor exercise and 52.95 points on the pommel horse are both 11th-best in the country.

Individually, Navy’s Adam Stanton (Jr./Centennial, Colo.) remains ranked among the nation’s top-20 gymnasts on the pommel horse. Stanton placed second on the apparatus one week ago with a score of 13.5. For the year, he owns a 13.917 average among his three routines to find himself 19th nationally.

Brandon Cook (Sr./Longmont, Colo.) delivered stellar performances on both the floor exercise and vault last Saturday. He produced a 15.25-point score in a near flawless floor exercise routine to distance himself from eventual second-place performer David Locke’s 14.85 from William & Mary. Three rotations later, he earned a 15.15 from the judges on the vault to finish only 0.30-point off Locke’s effort two rotations before. In both events, Cook’s starting value was a 15.8. He heads to Philadelphia on Saturday ranked 24th nationally on the floor exercise and 31st on the vault.

Christopher Tam (Sr./Draper, Utah), the USAG Collegiate Division national gymnast of the week, ranks 24th in the country with an all-around average mark of 81.075 points. Tam played a significant role in Navys come-from-behind win last Saturday, as he was the final gymnast to compete on the high bar, the teams final event. The Navy senior came up with a solid 14.75-point performance from a 15.2-point start value to propel the Mids to victory. His effort on the high bar also upped his all-around score to 81.0, tops among all gymnasts on the day.

Following Saturday night’s meet, the Midshipmen will return home to host Army in the annual Star Meet on Saturday, Feb. 9, starting at 3 p.m. Earlier this year at the West Point Open, the Mids scored 2.15 more points than the Black Knights.

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 8:38pm

For Immediate Release
Friday, Feb. 1, 2008
Wrestling Contact: Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773

Mids Shoot for Fifth-Straight All-Academy Wrestling Title

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy wrestling team will look to earn its fifth-consecutive All-Academy Championship crown this weekend, as the 14th annual event is slated to get underway Saturday in West Point, N.Y. with the preliminary round starting at 9:30 am. The Mids have won seven of the 13 team titles, the most by any of the teams competing.

Navy has won 45 individual championships in All-Academy Championship history, including 19 of the 40 titles over the last four years. The Mids captured the team title in 1995, '97, '99, '04, '05, '06 and '07, while they won five or more individual titles in 1997, '99, '04, '05 and '07. Four current members of the Navy wrestling team have won titles - Matt Stolpinski (174) in 2005, '06 & '07, Joe Baker (133) in 2006, Matt Parsons (197) in 2007 and Ed Prendergast (HWT) in 2007. Last year, Navy won five weight classes (157, 174, 184, 197 and HWT), while sending nine Midshipmen to the finals and placing all 10 wrestlers in the top three.

In all, seven of the 10 individual winners will return to defend their titles. In addition to Navy’s three returning winners, Army will put four on the mat - Fernando Martinez at 125, William Simpson at 133, Matt Kyler at 141 and Brian Rowan at 165. Navy’s John Jarred (157) and Antonio Miranda (184) graduated last spring, as did 149-pound Sam Alvarenga from VMI.

Team captain Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.), who enters Saturday’s tournament ranked eighth in the country, defeated The Citadel’s Darius Caldwell, 3-2, at last year’s even to win his third consecutive All-Academy crown. He is only the fourth wrestler in Naval Academy history to win three individual titles at the All-Academy tournament, joining Greg Gingeleskie (1997-98-99), Mark Conley (2000-01-02) and Tanner Garrett (2004-05-06). No Navy wrestler has ever won titles in all four years.

Stolpinski became Navy’s all-time wins leader a week ago after NC State forfeited the match, giving the Navy senior his record-breaking 128th career victory. Meanwhile, the 2007 All-American is just one win shy of joining the 30-win club for the third straight year. In 2005-06, he won 30 matches and last year he tied the school record with 44 wins. He has produced a 29-6 record this season.

After missing last year’s tournament nursing an injury, junior 133-pounder Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) returns to the lineup, hoping to win his second All-Academy title. In 2006, Baker held off Army’s Frankie Baughan, 10-9, to claim the title in his rookie campaign. Baker has turned in a 17-10 record this season, including a 3-3 dual meet mark. He has placed in all four of the tournaments in which he competed in the first half of the year, including second-place finishes at the Navy Classic and the Reno Tournament of Champions.

For the second year in a row, senior Matt Parsons (Dunkirk, Md.) has made the move from 184 to 197 pounds shortly before the All-Academy Championship. Last year, he made a dual meet appearance against NC State before going on to pin Army’s Connor Sanders in the 197-pound All-Academy finals to win his first collegiate title.

Beginning the 2007-08 campaign back at 184 pounds, Parsons has wrestled the last three duals at 197 pounds where he has turned in a 2-1 record. On the year, he owns a 17-9 mark that includes a title win at the Navy Classic in November at 184 pounds.

Senior Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) is ranked third in the nation and like last year, he is hitting his stride at the right time. The reigning EIWA heavyweight champion owns a 25-4 record this season and heads into the weekend riding a 15-match winning streak. Seven of the 15 wins have been by fall, including each of the last four. He has captured a pair of tournament titles this season (Reno Tournament of Champions and Southern Scuffle), while finishing runner-up to his teammate Scott Steele in the early season at the Eastern Michigan Open and the Navy Classic. Prendergast’s last loss was against then 11th-ranked Mark Ellis of Missouri at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

Tied for 32nd in the country in falls this season, 11 of his 25 wins have been by fall. Meanwhile, he is one fall shy of becoming only one of four wrestlers in program history to produce 35 career pins, joining record holder John Reich (1979-83), Karl Haywood (1995-99) and Scott Kelly (1984-88).

On a final note, Navy has owned the heavier weight classes at the All-Academy Championship in recent years. The Mids have won four consecutive heavyweight titles, three straight 174-pound crowns and the 197-pound weight class has been won by Navy in six of the last seven years.

Army will have live bout updates on its website (<a href=“http://www.goARMYsports.com%5B/url%5D”>www.goARMYsports.com</a>) from all of the championship matches which are scheduled to begin at 5:00 pm.

All-Academy Championship Team Titles
Team No. Last
Navy 7 2007
Air Force 4 2002
Army 1 1996
Va. Military 1 2003

Schedule of Events
9:30 am Preliminary Round
12:00 pm Semifinals/Consolation Round One
2:30 pm Consolation Semifinals
5:00 pm Finals

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 8:39pm

Game Specifics
Date and Tip Time: Feb. 2, 2008 at 7:00 pm EST
Location: Annapolis, Md. | Alumni Hall (5,710)
Tickets: 1-800-US4-NAVY
Promotions: Mascot Mayhem | Scout Night
Television: None
Video Streaming: <a href=“http://www.NavySports.com%5B/url%5D”>www.NavySports.com</a>
Radio: WNAV (Annapolis; 1430 AM)
Radio: WFED (Washington; 1050 AM)
Radio: SIRIUS (Channel 130)
Radio talent: Pete Medhurst
Webcast: <a href=“http://www.wnav.com%5B/url%5D”>www.wnav.com</a> | <a href=“http://www.federalnewsradio.com%5B/url%5D”>www.federalnewsradio.com</a> 
Gametracker: <a href=“http://www.NavySports.com%5B/url%5D”>www.NavySports.com</a>

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy will look for its second win in a row on Saturday, as Colgate comes calling to Alumni Hall for a 7:00 pm tipoff. The Mids are coming off an impressive 77-66 victory over American on Wednesday, while Colgate defeated Holy Cross, 58-46, in Hamilton on Wednesday. A Navy win on Saturday would give it a winning record after the first round of conference play for the first time since 2001-02.

The game will be aired on WNAV (1430 AM, Annapolis), WFED (1050 AM, Washington, D.C.) and SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Channel 130) beginning at 6:45 pm with the Navy basketball pregame show as Pete Medhurst calls all the action. The game will be streamed online at both <a href=“http://www.navysports.com%5B/url%5D”>www.navysports.com</a> and <a href=“http://www.patriotleague.com%5B/url%5D”>www.patriotleague.com</a>, as part of the CSTV All-Access packages.

American Recap
Navy outscored American, 42-29, in the second half to rally from a two-point halftime deficit and defeat the Eagles, 77-66, on Wednesday night. Navy has now alternated wins and losses in its first six conference contests.
The win was just the third in 11 games for a Navy team at American’s Bender Arena and the first since American joined the Patriot League in 2001-02. Navy had lost six games in a row at the facility before Wednesday’s win.
The win was also just the second for the Navy program against American since the Eagles joined the Patriot League in 2001-02. In the Patriot League era, the Mids are now 2-13 against American since the 2001-02 season.
The Mids’ Greg Sprink scored a career-high 36 points, tied for the 20th most in a game in school history. The 36 points were the most since Michael Heary scored 38 against Holy Cross on Jan. 27, 1997, and were the second most for a Navy player in Patriot League history.
Sprink made 17 free throws in the contest against American, the third most in school history in a single game. The 17 made free throws not only set a Navy record in league games, it also tied a Patriot League single-game record. He is also the first Navy player to make 15 free throws in a game since Michael Heary made 16 against Lafayette on March 2, 1997.
Navy snapped a 15-game losing streak when trailing at halftime with the victory over American.
Navy committed just eight turnovers in the win over American. The Mids also had eight turnovers in the win over Holy Cross, the fewest for the team since 1997.
Navy failed to make double-digit three-pointers for the first time this year in six league games. The Mids went 9-of-26.
Navy forced American into 17 turnovers. The Eagles had entered the game leading the Patriot League at just 13.1 turnovers per game.
The win was Navy’s second road win in Patriot League games already this year. It matches the most road league wins in a year since 2000-01 (4-2 Patriot League road record). Navy has four road games remaining.
Navy’s five wins in “true” road games this year equal the most road wins since the 2000-01 team went 8-9.

Navy Update
Navy has scored at least 80 points six times this season, after reaching 80 points just three times all of last year. Navy has been held to 70 points or less just six times. On the flipside, Navy has lost 14 straight games when scoring 69 points or less. The last Navy victory came in a 60-44 win over Lafayette on Jan. 16, 2007.
The Mids are averaging 76.1 points per game this year, the most for a Navy team since the 1990-91 team set a school record, averaging 84.1 points per contest.
Navy is shooting 74.7 percent from the free throw line, a total that ties the school record of last year’s 74.7 percent. In the six conference games, Navy is shooting a sizzling 79.9 percent (119-of-149).
Navy is 3-3 in league play for the first time since the 2001-02 season. That year’s team started league play 3-1 and 4-2, before fading to a 5-9 finish. Navy has started 3-3 or better in league play nine other times.
The Mids have held leads at halftime in all three of their Patriot League losses. Navy led by seven (46-39) against Bucknell, by seven (43-36) against Lafayette and by four (38-34) against Army.
In Navy’s three league wins, however, the Mids have been tied with Lehigh (33-33), tied with Holy Cross (37-37) and trailed by two against American (37-35).
Navy has made at least nine three-pointers in 10 of the last 11 games. The lone game without nine three-pointers came in a Jan. 5 win over Longwood (7-of-21).
Navy has made at least 20 free throws in five of the last seven games. Navy made just 20 free throws in a game once in the first 14 outings.
The Navy trio of Greg Sprink, Kaleo Kina and Chris Harris have combined for 50 of Navy’s 61 double-figure scoring games this year. The trio is averaging a combined 48.6 ppg this year (1,021 points).

The Book on Colgate
Colgate is aiming for its second win in a row following its 58-46 win over Holy Cross on Wednesday night. The Raiders enter the contest with a 10-10 overall mark and a 2-4 Patriot League record. Colgate was picked to finish third in the preseason Patriot League poll, but inconsistent play has cost the Raiders in the first half of the league season.
In the win over Holy Cross, Kyle Roemer scored 15 points while Alex Woodhouse and freshman Mike Venezia tallied 10 points each to lead the Raiders to the 12-point win. Woodhouse added eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots in a fine all-around effort. The Raiders held Holy Cross to shoot just 37.5 percent from the field, while shooting 50.0 percent themselves. Colgate also outrebounded the Crusaders, 32-30, and committed just 11 turnovers. Colgate led 23-22 at halftime, but outscored Holy Cross, 35-24, in the second half.
Colgate is averaging 63.7 ppg, while giving up 64.6 per game on the season. As a team, the Raiders are shooting 43.0 percent, including 36.6 percent from three-point range. Colgate is also outrebounding its foes by 1.3 rebounds per game and is averaging 16.8 turnovers per game, while forcing just 14.9. Foes are shooting 41.3 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from three-point range.
Roemer, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, leads the team in scoring at 15.1 ppg, but is shooting just 37.7 percent from the field. Kendall Chones is next at 10.2 ppg and Daniel Waddy averages 8.6 ppg. Waddy leads the team in assists (56) and steals (26), while Woodhouse leads the squad with 5.6 rebounds per game.
Emmett Davis is in 10th year as the head man at Colgate, posting a 130-146 record in that span. A longtime Navy assistant from 1986-98, Davis is a 1981 graduate of St. Lawrence University. During his time at Navy, he helped the Mids to five NCAA Tournaments and three Patriot League Tournament titles.

Series History
The two teams are tied at 20 wins each in the series, with Colgate winning 10 of the last 11 contests, including five in a row. The Mids opened the series by winning 19 of the first 29 games. In the last 13 games, 10 of them have been determined by single-digits.

Last Year’s Meetings
Colgate swept the season series a year ago for the second straight year with a 66-58 win in Annapolis on Jan. 27, and a 70-62 decision in Hamilton on Feb. 28.

In the first meeting, Colgate jumped out to a 29-24 halftime advantage, then held off every Navy charge by shooting 57.1 percent in the second half for the 66-58 victory. The Raiders shot 53.7 percent for the game, while limiting the Mids to just 40.4 percent shooting from the field. Kyle Chones led Colgate with 13 points and four other players scored at least eight points. Sprink scored 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting to pace the Mids.

With the fifth seed in the Patriot League Tournament on the line, Colgate jumped to a seven-point halftime lead, then held off several Navy charges in the second half for a 70-62 win. The loss dropped Navy to the seventh seed. The Raiders dominated the glass against the Mids, 38-22, including a 16-6 advantage on the offensive end. Navy shot 48.1 percent from the field, but made just six three-pointers in the loss. Sprink scored 29 for Navy, while Jon Simon scored 24 for the Raiders. Colgate had 23 second-chance points to Navy’s eight in the contest.

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 8:58pm

Little things add up for Navy’s Garcia

By BILL WAGNER, Staff Writer
Published February 02, 2008

At first glance, there is nothing impressive about Navy basketball player Romeo Garcia.

The 6-foot-4 freshman from Texas is still skinny at just over 200 pounds and clearly needs to add some muscle. He is not especially quick or a great leaper and does not possess a deadeye shooting stroke.

On the surface, Garcia would appear to be a rather ordinary basketball player.

Even a seasoned observer needs to watch Garcia carefully over the course of an entire game to fully appreciate his ability. Garcia’s contributions to the success of Navy basketball this season have been subtle and sometimes are only noticed when reviewing the tape.

There is Garcia alertly shifting over to provide help defense for a teammate who has been beaten. Here is Garcia expertly boxing out a taller opponent to grab a defensive rebound.

With the shot clock winding down, Garcia drives to draw a defender then dishes to a teammate for a wide open shot. Moments later, Garcia is spotted flashing to the middle at just the right moment to provide an outlet target for a teammate trapped in the backcourt.

“Romeo understands basketball and has a great feel for the game,” Navy head coach Billy Lange said. “He makes winning plays for 40 minutes.”

Navy has been a better team since Garcia entered the starting lineup five games into the season and started doing all the little things that help win games. The 6-foot-4, 202-pound plebe is putting up pedestrian numbers, averaging 3.4 points and 3.6 rebounds. However, his contributions cannot be measured in statistics, Lange said.

“Romeo is a glue kind of guy. He holds things together by making fundamental plays at all times,” Lange said. “He’s always helping on defense, always blocking out his man, always making the right decision with the ball. He just knows how to play.”

Garcia does rank among the team leaders with 17 steals and 11 blocked shots and boasts a superb assist-to-turnover ratio (21/11). He has been a stat sheet stuffer at times, totaling eight points, five steals, three rebounds and three assists in a victory over Holy Cross.

Garcia scored a season-high 10 points against New Jersey Tech, grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds against Longwood and dished off a season-high five assists at Maryland-Eastern Shore. He has committed just four turnovers in the last eight games and has nine blocked shots in the same span.

“Romeo is a meat-and-potatoes type of player who provides whatever the team needs on a given night,” Lange said.

Garcia did not play at all in Navy’s initial two games then got all of one minute in the third. He received 12 minutes of action at Texas-San Antonio, in part because Lange wanted to let him play in front of family and friends who had made the drive from the Houston area.

However, Garcia showed in San Antonio and subsequent practices he could be a lockdown defender and that ability is what got him into the starting lineup.

“Romeo is a tremendous defender. He’s tough, tenacious and has excellent technique,” Lange said.

Lange saw all of the aforementioned traits while watching Garcia play in an Amateur Athletic Union Tournament in Las Vegas for the Houston Heat. While best friend Devin Gibson (now a starter at Texas-San Antonio) was the flashy star of that team, Lange noticed that Garcia was true leader and did a little of everything on the floor.

“I was sitting there with (assistant coaches) Joe Burke and Eugene Burroughs and I said, ‘We’ve got to get this guy.’ It was so obvious that Romeo was a winner who made his teammates better,” Lange recalled.

Insight into Garcia as a player and person can be found in his biography in the Navy media guide. He responded as follows to the following questions.

I’m as good as anyone at: “Being a leader and helping someone out.”

My best non-athletic talent is: “Motivating people.”

That attitude and approach were instilled by Romeo Garcia Jr., a computer analyst with Exxon-Mobil who taught his son work ethic and responsibility. Viola Garcia, a nurse at an orthopedic center, was an equally strong influence.

“My father and mother put it in my head from a young age to do your job the right way, give maximum effort at all times and take pride in your work,” Garcia said. “I just transferred those lessons to the basketball court. I try to work hard in all areas of the game, play with passion and pride, be unselfish and sacrifice for the team.”

Lange thought of two specific plays that exemplified what Garcia brings to the court for Navy. With time winding down and Navy hanging onto a lead at Holy Cross, it was Garcia who helped break the press on a critical possession.

“Romeo flashed to the ball, caught the pass, turned and found three defenders all over him. He instinctively stuck the ball under his chin, ducked his shoulders and swung his elbows to get some room then made a great pass upcourt,” Lange said. “A lot of players would have gotten the ball stripped in that situation, but Romeo showed great presence of mind.”

With Navy trailing by two points with a few seconds remaining against Army, it was Garcia that Lange chose to inbound the ball as Navy looked to get off a game-tying or winning shot attempt.

“That’s how much trust and confidence I have in Romeo. I just knew he would make the right pass to the right guy to get an open look and he did,” Lange said.

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 9:00pm

For Immediate Release
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Navy Wins Seventh-Straight N-Star, Defeats Army, 95-86

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men’s track & field team registered 15 IC4A performances to defeat Army in the indoor Star Meet, 95-86, on Saturday at Halsey Field House. The indoor N-Star victory is the seventh-straight for the Mids, the longest streak in program history.

Navy opened up a 68-53 lead after 11 of the 17 events, but Army battled back to pull within single digits with three events remaining. However, the Midshipmen won two of those three events (high jump and 4x800-meter relay) to ensure the nine-point triumph.

“There was a point during the 200-meter race where we didn’t let down, but Army really caught fire. However, as soon as Bill Stillman jumped in the high jump, that turned the meet in our favor,” stated Navy head coach Stephen Cooksey. "Getting 15 IC4A marks was absolutely big for us. We were able to get a point here and a point there, which when added up, proved to be the difference today.

“Our 4x800-meter relay ran nice, relaxed and didn’t make any mistakes. They were able to open up on them in the final half of the race. It was good for us to finish that way. We want our guys, regardless of the outcome, to compete and scrap until the meet is completely over.”

In the high jump, Bill Stillman (So./Norfolk, Mass.) won the event with a career-best, IC4A height of 6’8-1/4" (2.04 meters). In the final event of the meet, the 4x800-meter relay, Navy’s Andrew Grant (Jr./Athens, Ga.), Matlack Gillin (So./Oreland, Pa.), Lucas Burke (Sr./Bakersfield, Calif.) and Ben Kozy (Sr./Houston, Texas) combined for a IC4A, first-place time of 7:48.11.

Dante Marshall (Sr./Hermitage, Pa.) also came through in the jumping events to break up Army’s scoring. On his last attempt in the triple jump, Marshall soared 48’2-3/4" (14.70 meters) for a season-best, IC4A mark to place second. Earlier in the day in the long jump, he landed third with an IC4A distance of 23’3-1/2" (7.10 meters).

Navy opened the meet in fine fashion, as it went 1-2 in both the weight throw and the 55-meter hurdles. Christopher Bordino (Jr./Gastonia, N.C.) won the weight throw with a career-best, IC4A distance of 58’8" (17.88 meters), while Mark Van Orden (So./Morris Plains, N.J.) placed second with a toss of 54’7-3/4" (16.65 meters). Ron Belany (Sr./Haiku, Hawai’i) won the 55-meter hurdles with a blistering IC4A 7.60-second clocking, soon followed by Matthew Hanley’s (So./Rapid City, S.D.) second-place time of 7.79 seconds.

The Midshipmen also boasted the top-two heights in the pole vault. Kraegen Bramer (Sr./Auburn, Calif.) registered a career-best, IC4A height of 15’9" (4.80 meters) to win the event. Belany followed in second place with a 15’1" (4.60 meters) performance. Meanwhile, Belany also came in second in the long jump with a career-best, IC4A showing of 23’4-1/2" (7.12 meters).

Navy registered three other event victories on Saturday. Paul Harris (Sr./Fairburn, Ga.) paced the field in thee 500-meter run with a time of 1:04.17, followed by a first-place 1:54.15 clocking in the 800-meter run by Craig Meekins (Sr./Baldwin, N.Y.). Darryl Hunter (Sr./Des Moines, Iowa) surpassed the IC4A standard for the fifth-consecutive week in the weight throw, winning the event with a toss of 55’8-1/2" (16.98 meters).

Competing in his first meet of the year, sprinter Reggie Campbell (Sr./Sanford, Fla.) placed second in the 55-meter dash with a career-best 6.51-second clocking. William Ricks (Sr./Hopewell, Va.) crossed the finish line second in the 200-meter dash with a season-best time of 22.74 seconds.

Saturday’s Star Meet served as the final men’s indoor track & field meet in Halsey Field House, which has served as the home of the Navy indoor program since 1957. Next year, the Midshipmen will move into the 140,000-square foot, $45 million Wesley Brown Field House. The new home of the Navy indoor track & field team will feature a 200-meter hydraulic banked track, 60-meter straightaway, dual pole vault/jumping runways, dual throwing areas and a scenic view of the Severn River.

The Midshipmen will close out the indoor regular season on Feb. 15-16, when they head to Ames, Iowa, to compete at the Iowa State Classic.

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 9:04pm

For: Immediate Release
Sent: February 2, 2008
Contact: Scott Strasemeier

Navy Men’s Tennis Team Routs Howard

ANNAPOLIS, Md.-The Navy men’s tennis team improved to 4-1 on the year with an easy 7-0 victory over Howard Saturday afternoon at the Tose Family Tennis Center.

“We were pleased to get nine players in the lineup today in addition to winning all the matches,” said Navy head tennis coach John Officer. “Nate Nelms played tremendous tennis today. He covered the court well and hit the ball hard off both sides. Jarrad Smoke and Joe Wiggins, who are not normally starters, both came in and played exceptionally well. Our normal #2 doubles team of Lemaich and James were on top of their games.”

Navy picked up the doubles point with victories by Alex James and Ramsey Lemaich at number one and Jason Hill and Mike Eisenberg at number two. James and Lemaich won 8-1, while Hill and Eisenberg won 8-4. Kyle Jones and Luke Albi won by default at number three doubles.

The Mids swept the singles matches with Nate Nelms winning at number one, 6-1, 6-0; John Waters winning at number two, 6-1, 6-3; Owen Bullard winning at number three, 6-2, 6-2; Joe Wiggins winning at number four, 6-1, 6-1; Jarrad Smoke winning at number five, 6-1, 6-0 and Nick Birger winning by default at number six.

The Mids play again tonight at 5 p.m. at the Tose Family Tennis Center against the Villanova Wildcats.

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 9:08pm

Women’s Basketball
Navy def. Colgate, 64-49

For more information on Navy Athletics, please visit <a href=“http://www.navysports.com%5B/url%5D”>www.navysports.com</a>

For Immediate Release
Sent Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008
Contact Justin Kischefsky (410) 293-8772

Navy Defense Sparks Mids to Victory

HAMILTON, N.Y. - Cassie Consedine scored eight of Navy’s second-half opening 15 points and tallied a career-high 20 points in the game to help the Mids record a 64-49 victory over Colgate, Saturday afternoon at Cotterell Court in Hamilton, N.Y.

“I’m happy for our players,” said Navy head coach Tom Marryott. “They have continually worked hard all season and just didn’t see it reflected in the results of the games.”

Navy held a 19-18 lead late in the first half, but outscored Colgate 10-4 over the final six minutes to head into halftime with a 29-22 lead. Consedine and fellow freshman Angela Myers both scored nine points in the opening half for the Mids.

Navy then scored the opening seven points of the second half as part of a 15-4 run to take a 44-26 lead with 15:45 left to play. Colgate was able to climb as close as 11 points at 47-36, but Navy went on a 9-0 run to build a 56-36 advantage with 5:30 remaining in the game. Poor free throw shooting down the stretch by the Mids allowed Colgate to narrow the margin down to 13 points at 62-49 before Ali Currier converted a pair of attempts from the line with 2.5 seconds remaining for the final points of the game.

Navy’s defense forced 15 Colgate turnovers on the day and its offense scored 17 points following the Colgate miscues. Conversely, the Mids allowed the Raiders to score just four points following the 10 Navy turnovers.

The defense by the Mids also forced Colgate into a 2-of-12 effort from behind the three-point line and allowed the Raiders to shoot 35.8 percent from the field. Navy drilled six triples on the day and converted 40 percent of its shots from the floor.

“Our defense was key this afternoon,” said Marryott. “In addition to what shows up on the box score, we also didn’t allow Colgate to start looking towards the basket for a shot until the shot clock was winding down. On offense, we took very good care of the basketball.”

Consedine sank a trio of three-point field goals on her way to leading all players in scoring on the day. She also added a Navy-best eight rebounds, while Myers totaled 14 points and dished out five assists.

Colgate was led in scoring by Georgia Gier and Shevorne Martin, with both players tallying 15 points.

“We now need to use this experience and confidence to start the second half of the league season with a much better start than we had to the first half,” said Marryott.

The Mids improve to 5-17 on the season and 1-6 in the Patriot League with the win, while the Raiders fall to 1-21 on the year and 0-7 in league play with the loss.

Navy will open the second half of the Patriot League season Feb. 9 when the Mids plat at Bucknell.

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 9:09pm

For Immediate Release
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Navy Rallies for 93.5-87.5 N-Star Victory Over Army

ANNAPOLIS, Md. Navy womens track & field competitor Jacqui Charnigo (Sr./Medina, Ohio) competed through sickness and won two events to fuel the Midshipmen to a 93.5-87.5 come-from-behind victory against Army in the annual Star Meet on Saturday in Halsey Field House. The Midshipmen have claimed the indoor N-Star in each of the last-three years and eight of the last-10 indoor seasons.

The Midshipmen improved their dual-scoring record to 7-0 on the year, while the Black Knights fell to 0-1 in their first dual-meet of the season. Navy has not lost in a dual-scored meet since the 2004-05 season, a stretch of 52-straight victories. The Mids also extended their home indoor winning streak to 68 triumphs, dating back to 2000.

This may be one of my proudest moments in coaching, stated Navy head coach Carla Criste. All of our team really stepped up today. We kept the fighting spirit throughout the entire meet and this was the best team support I have seen this season.

Jacqui Charnigo overcame adversity in a big way today. Vicki Moore was awesome in both the 1,000-meter run and 4x800-meter relay. The seniors truly led the way for us and set a great example for the rest of the team to follow.

Charnigo, who was diagnosed with pneumonia and bronchitis earlier in the week, battled through the illness to win the pole vault and high jump after Navy was trailing, 63-58, after 11 events. The Navy senior cleared 125-1/2 (3.80 meters) in the pole vault, an ECAC mark and the 10th-best height in school history. At the same time, she soared over 53 (1.60 meters) bar in the high jump and defeated Armys Kim Maxwell, who also cleared the same height, but Charnigo required fewer jumps.

Navy began its comeback swing with the 3,000-meter run, as Amy Watson (So./Hampstead, Md.) paced the field with a season-best time of 10:09.48. After Army clipped Navy in the 4x400-meter relay, the Midshipmen quartet of Abby Gesecki (So./Nanticoke, Pa.), Maureen Dooley (Jr./Durham, Conn.), Allie Moreland (Jr./Ocean City, N.J.) and Vicki Moore (Sr./Burke, Va.) teamed up to win the 4x800-meter relay with a season-best 9:26.56 showing.

In addition to Charnigos two victories, Jessica Schlaegel (So./Nashport, Ohio) placed second in the pole vault with a career-best bar of 1011-3/4 (3.35 meters). Katie Berkey (Jr./Tempe, Ariz.) also delivered a season-best distance of 374 (11.38 meters) to finish second in the triple jump.

Navy also registered the top-two times in the 1,000-meter run earlier in the day. Moore qualified for the ECAC Championship with a first-place time of 2:56.4, followed by Kayla Saxs (So./Richland, Wash.) second-place 3:01.1 clocking. Sax crossed the finish line 7.0 seconds ahead of Armys top runner.

The Midshipmen kicked off the track portion of the meet in style, winning three of the first-four races and one field event. Dooley opened the track portion of the meet with a first-place 5:09.96 effort in the mile, followed by Sabrina Gambills (Sr./Bridgewater, Mass.) impressive 8.0-second clocking in the 55-meter hurdles. Gesecki then edged out Armys Katelin Grant by 0.06-second in the 500-meter run to win with a time of 1:17.90. Gloria Hill (Sr./Mitchellville, Md.) out-distanced the competition in the long jump with a mark of 178 (5.38 meters).

Debbi Choi (Jr./Clarksville, Md.) recorded career-best time in the 55-meter dash (7.47 seconds) and the 200-meter dash (26.37 seconds) to place second in both races. In the shot put, Janet von Eiff (Fr./San Diego, Calif.) recorded a toss of 442-3/4 (13.48 meters) and Joy Nameth (Fr./Walden, Colo.) uncorked a throw of 439-1/4 (13.34 meters) to each break their own personal records and finish second and third, respectively.

Saturday’s action served as the final women’s indoor Star Meet in Halsey Field House, which has served as the home of the Navy indoor program since 1957. Next year, the Midshipmen will move into the 140,000-square foot, $45 million Wesley Brown Field House. The new home of the Navy indoor track & field team will feature a 200-meter hydraulic banked track, 60-meter straightaway, dual pole vault/jumping runways, dual throwing areas and a scenic view of the Severn River.

The Midshipmen will compete in Halsey Field House for the last time on Feb. 14, when they host Loyola (Md.) at 4 p.m. close out the indoor regular season.

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 9:11pm

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Colgate shot a blistering 61.5 percent from the field in the second half and outscored Navy, 49-41, in the final 20 minutes to take an 84-77 victory in men’s basketball action on Saturday night at Alumni Hall. The loss drops Navy to 10-12 overall and 3-4 in the Patriot League, while Colgate improves to 11-10 and 3-4.

The Mids are now just 1-3 at home in the Patriot League and have led at halftime in all four of their league losses. Colgate has also won six games in a row against Navy, and 11 of the last 12 contests.

“We have been playing with fire lately defensively, and tonight we finally got burned,” said Navy head coach Billy Lange. “Until we start to take pride in our defense, we will find it tough to win games where we don’t shoot well. Right now, we have a locker room full of guys that don’t believe in defense. We gotta find guys that can play it.”

Colgate would use a 13-0 run in the first half to take a 19-10 lead with 13:57 to play, but Navy rallied with a 10-0 run of its own for a 20-19 advantage with 10:26 to play. The two teams then traded leads for the rest of the half with Navy holding on to a slim 36-35 lead at the break.

The Mids then stretched the lead to 41-35 just a minute and a half into the second half, before Colgate seized control with a quick 12-0 run for a 47-41 lead with 16:00 to play. The Mids would get no closer than four points the rest of the way, as the Raiders scored several key baskets when Navy would need a key defensive stop.

Colgate shot a sizzling 16-of-26 (.615) from the field in the second half and was 29-of-50 (.580) for the entire contest. The Raiders won the contest, despite turning the ball over 22 times and giving up 22 offensive rebounds to Navy.

Meanwhile, Navy shot an icy 28-of-77 (.364) from the field and were just 7-of-29 (.241) from the three-point line. Navy committed just 14 turnovers and were outrebounded 40-38.

The Navy trio of Greg Sprink, Kaleo Kina and Chris Harris each scored in double figures but shot just a combined 18-of-58 (.310) from the field. Sprink was just 3-of-23, while Harris went 6-of-14 and Kina was 9-of-21.

“It was just one of those nights for Greg. Give credit to Colgate’s defense, they made it tough for him,” said Lange. “I don’t think we made very good decisions when we got in the lane tonight. I thought we forced a lot of shots in there.”

Kina led the Mids with 21 points and three assists, while Harris had 15 points and Sprink had 10.

“If we are going to go up and down on offense, we have to get stops defensively and tonight it didn’t happen,” said Kina. “We have to have the same mentality on offense and defense. There is no excuses for our defensive effort. We have to approach every game the same and we didn’t do that.”

Freshman Mark Veazey had a strong game for Navy with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds and two blocks. Adam Teague also added nine points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals.

Freshman Mike Venezia led five Raiders in double figures with 18 points, while Kendall Chones added 17 points and nine rebounds. Alex Woodhouse had 10 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots.

The Mids will have a week off before starting the second round of Patriot League play. Navy will host Bucknell, next Saturday night at 7:00 pm in Alumni Hall.

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 9:31pm

Navy finishes second at All-Academy Championship

For Immediate Release
Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008
Wrestling Contact: Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773

Five Mids Win Titles, Navy Finishes Second at All-Academy Championship

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Despite winning five of the 10 title bouts, the Navy wrestling team came up short of winning its fifth-consecutive 14th-Annual All-Academy Championship as Army edged Navy, 111-106, Saturday at Christl Arena in West Point, N.Y. Nine Midshipmen place third or higher, including bout winners at 133, 149, 157, 174 and heavyweight. Additionally, Navy senior captain Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler as he became the first wrestler in Navy history to win a title in all four years.

“We were down 12 points going into the finals and made a good run at it,” said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We had seven guys in the finals and we won five of those which was the most individual titles by any team.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do between now and Feb. 22 when we wrestle Army again. Though I’m disappointed in part, we had some really strong performances. Baker, Saddoris and Stolpinski looked good and Spencer (Manley) did a very good job and earned a big win. I was really proud of his effort.”

While Army turned in a five-point advantage over Navy, the Mids nearly doubled third-place Air Force’s score, as the Falcons finished a distant third with 54.5 points. The Citadel followed in fourth with 49.5 points, while the Merchant Marine Academy was fifth with 43.0 points, VMI was sixth with 34.0 points, Coast Guard was seventh with 5.0 points and Norwich closed out the scoring with 1.0 point. The Mids sent seven wrestlers to the finals, while Army appeared in every championship bout except 165. Air Force had two wrestlers in title matches, while The Citadel had one individual in the championship.

Navy has now won 50 individual crowns in All-Academy Championship history, including 24 of the 50 titles over the last five years. The Mids won the team title in 1995, '97, '99, '04, '05, '06 and '07, while they have claimed five or more individual titles in 1997, '99, '04, '05, '07 and now in '08.

Navy opened the championship round with the return of rookie 125-pounder Joey Boone (Poway, Calif.) back in the lineup. It was Boone’s first appearance on the mat since the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Nov. 30. Boone received a first-round bye before pinning Air Force’s Andrew Zwirlein in 51 seconds to earn a championship appearance in his first All-Academy Championship. Boone, seeded second, was unable to win the crown, however, as 20th-ranked Fernando Martinez of Army won his second-consecutive 125-pound title.

Though Army bested the Mids in the opener, Navy went on to win three of the next four bouts, including the 133-pound match by junior Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.). Baker, who won the individual title is rookie year, missed last year’s event due to an injury. Baker punched his ticket to the title match by pinning Coast Guard’s Andrew Armstrong in the opening match and posted a 6-1 decision over Norwich’s Brian Zane. He went on to earn a 10-2 major decision thanks to four takedowns over Army’s Whitt Dunning.

Rookie Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) easily defeated his first two opponents, posting major decisions over John Held of VMI (14-4) and Derek Royster of The Citadel (15-7) at 149 pounds. In the championship bout, he jumped out to a 5-1 lead before eventually winning his first collegiate tournament title by posting a 6-3 victory over Army’s Casey Thome.

Second-seeded Spencer Manley (Chattanooga, Tenn.), who has been utilized as of late at 157 pounds, upset top-seeded Christian Snook of Army in the title match. Manley, who was awarded a first-round bye and defeated Tony Dorward of Air Force (4-1) in the semis, scored a three-point near fall 20 seconds into the second period. Snook escaped with 40 seconds remaining in the periods. Manley chose to start the final stanza in the neutral position and after a scoreless third period, Manley tacked on an extra point for his 1:18 riding time.

Stolpinski, who a week ago became the program’s all-time winningest wrestler, was a man on a mission. He entered the tournament as one of only four wrestlers in school history to win three individual titles at the All-Academy tournament, joining Greg Gingeleskie (1997-98-99), Mark Conley (2000-01-02) and Tanner Garrett (2004-05-06). He became the first to win four when he pinned Army’s Ryan Mergen at 2:22 in the match and would be named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the postmatch banquet.

Navy suffered a disappointing loss at 197 pounds when with the match tied at 3-3, senior Matt Parsons (Dunkirk, Md.) found himself on his back and Army’s Richard Starks pinned him at 6:06. Ironically, Parsons owned a 3-1 advantage in the match, however, Starks was awarded a point after Parsons was warned for a second time for stalling. Down 3-2 in the final period, Starks started down and tied the match with an escape. He then grabbed Parsons and wrestled him to the mat for the pin. That win clinched the team title for the Black Knights.

Senior Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) pushed his winning streak to 18 in a row after sweeping the competition at heavyweight. Prendergast pinned Both Troy Robison of Coast Guard and The Citadel’s Aaron Brown in 38 seconds to earn his way into the title bout. Ranked third in the country, Prendergast wouldn’t find his finals match quite as easy as Army’s Nathan Thobaben forced the match into extra minutes. Trailing by two in the match (3-1), Thobaben began the third period down where he would receive a point after Prendergast was called for an illegal hold just four seconds into the period. Thobaben went on to knot the match at three apiece when he escaped Prendergast’s hold with 1:30 remaining. Prendergast, though, claimed his second straight All-Academy title by recording a takedown 45 seconds in overtime.

In addition to the finals matches, two Navy wrestlers placed third in their respective weight classes. Junior Jason Coyne (Trafford, Pa.) defeated The Citadel’s Brendan Prince, 5-4, at 165 pounds, while junior 184-pounder Casey Caldwell (Liberty, Ind.), who narrowly lost his semifinals match to The Citadel’s Darius Caldwell, 3-2, came back to post a 6-3 decision over Jacob Devlin of Air Force.

The only match Navy did not score points in was at 141 pounds where the Mids were without starter Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) who was sidelined with an injury.

“I’m sure had Glenn (Shober) been able to wrestle, he would have given us something today,” added Burnett.

The championship gave both Army and Navy a preview of one another as the two programs meet in the annual Star Meet in three weeks, as the Midshipmen will play host to the Black Knights on Feb. 22 at 7:00 pm. CSTV will televise the match tape-delayed on Feb. 25 at 8:00 pm.

The Midshipmen will use the next 12 days to prepare for its next competition, a Feb. 15 dual against Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.

14th-Annual All-Academy Wrestling Championship
Team Scores

111.0 - Army
106.0 - Navy
54.5 - Air Force
49.5 - The Citadel
43.0 - Merchant Marine
34.0 - VMI
5.0 - Coast Guard
1.0 - Norwich

Championship Matches
125 - #1 Fernando Martinez (Army) maj. #2 Joey Boone (Navy), 12-3
133 - #1 Joe Baker (Navy) maj. #3 Whitt Dunning (Army), 10-2
141 - #1 Matthew Kyler (Army) dec. #3 Jake Kriegbaum (Air Force), 10-3
149 - #1 Bryce Saddoris (Navy) dec. #2 Casey Thome (Army), 6-3
157 - #2 Spencer Manley (Navy) dec. #1 Christian Snook (Army), 4-1
165 - #2 Stephen Crozier (Air Force) pin. #1 Vincent Renaut (Merchant Marine) 4:14
174 - #1 Matt Stolpinski (Navy) pin. #3 Ryan Mergen (Army) 2:22
184 - #1 Scott Ferguson (Army) dec. #2 Darius Caldwell (The Citadel), 8-2
197 - #2 Richard Starks (Army) pin. #1 Matt Parsons (Navy) 6:06
285 - #1 Ed Prendergast (Navy) dec. #2 Nathan Thobaben (Army), 5-3 (OT)

(# before each name is wrestler’s seed for the event)

GreatAmerican · February 3, 2008, 9:32pm

For Immediate Release
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Maggart (410) 293-8771

Mids Finish Third Against Temple and Ohio State

PHILADELPHIA - Navy gymnast Brandon Cook (Sr./Longmont, Colo.) placed among the top-four competitors in two events as the Midshipmen finished third in a tri-meet at Temple with Ohio State on Saturday night in McGonigle Hall.

Navy (5-3) placed second on the vault (60.0 points) and high bar (55.05 points) to accrue a total of 332.85 points on the night. Ninth-ranked Temple (6-1) racked up 342.85 points to upset seventh-ranked Ohio States (4-5) 341.15 points.

Cook surpassed the 15.0-point mark on the floor exercise and vault for the second-consecutive week. The Navy senior delivered a 15.35-point effort on the floor exercise to finish second, tied for the teams highest finisher on Saturday. He only was bested by Ohio State Jimmy Wickhams 15.6-point performance. Cook also produced an impressive 15.5-point routine on the vault to finish fourth.

Navys other individual second-place performance came from Adam Stanton (Jr./Centennial, Colo.) on the pommel horse. The nations 19th-ranked gymnast in the discipline registered a 14.4-point score on the apparatus to finish only behind John Vogtmans 14.55-point showing from Temple. Stanton also paced the Mids on the still rings (14.0 points) and recorded the teams second-highest mark on the parallel bars (13.35 points).

The Midshipmen had two gymnasts partake in the all-around competition on Saturday. For the first time in his collegiate career, Dylan Parrott (Fr./Rockwell, N.C.) saw action in all-six disciplines and totaled a team-best score of 82.75 points, good for fifth overall. Parrott recorded the teams second-best mark on the pommel horse (13.2 points) and high bar (14.0 points). Christopher Tam (Sr./Draper, Utah) placed sixth in the all-around with a season-best tally of 82.55 points. Tam led the Mids and finished fourth overall on the high bar with a 14.3-point routine. He also ranked as the teams second-best performer on the floor exercise (14.15 points) and still rings (13.8 points).

Navy also received a solid contribution from team captain Jon-Michael Chombeau (Sr./Beaverton, Ore.). He led the Mids on the parallel bars with a 13.6-point showing from the judges and posted the teams second-highest score on the vault with a 14.85-point effort.

The Midshipmen will return home to host Army in the annual Star Meet next Saturday in Macdonough Hall, starting at 3 p.m.

Navy Sports

CONNECT WITH US