Kip Simons, a decorated head coach and Olympic performer, was announced on Sept. 14, 2015 as the new head gymnastics coach at Navy. Simons came to Annapolis after 10 years as the head coach of an Air Force team that became a perennial top-10 program. He is beginning his 10th season with the Navy Gymnastics program in 2025.
Simons has had a near flawless transition to Navy and has seen his Midshipmen teams make an immediate impact on the national scene. Over his first nine years in Annapolis, the Mids have qualified for and competed at the NCAA Championship Meet in each campaign. (Navy was on its way to a fifth straight trip before the COVID-19 pandemic halted the 2020 season in mid-March). Regionally, Simons and the Mids have captured the ECAC Championship in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Prior to Navy’s ECAC title in 2016, the last time the team had been atop the podium was 1989. Additionally, the Mids won the 2019, 2022 and 2023 USAG Collegiate Championships and have been victorious over Air Force and Army in the All-Academy Championship in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
His Midshipmen teams have also shown themselves to be top-notch scholars in the classroom as seven times in his first nine years, Navy has ranked amongst the top-10 national in the CGA All-America Scholar-Athlete program for team GPA. All together, 93 Mids have earned individual honors for posting GPAs above 3.2; a program-best 15 in 2024; 10 in 2023; 11 in 2022; 13 in 2021; nine in 2020, eight in 2019, eight in 2018, nine in 2017 and 10 in 2016.
Individually, Simons has had a pair of Midshipmen be named finalists for the Nissen-Emery Award, Josh Williams in 2022 and Syam Buradagunta in 2024. Williams was the first Mid since Andrew Faulk in 2012 to make it to the final round of the national honor, that's that gymnastics equivalent to the Heisman Trophy.
Simons' 2024 squad got stronger as the season moved. After defeating Army in the annual Star Meet and knocking off all ECAC conference foes in their way, Navy increased its season-best scores in the postseason, first at the USAG Collegiate Championship and then at the ECAC Championship. The Mids finished runner-up at the USAGs before making sure that the ECAC Championship trophy stayed in Annapolis of the sixth straight time. At the NCAA Championships, Navy continued leaving its mark on the national scene as four individual gymnasts (Isaiah Drake, Matthew Petros, Colby Prince and Danilo Viciana) advanced to the championship finals with Drake (R) and Viciana (PB) both finishing in the top-20, respectively.
The 2024 team was also excellent in the classroom with a program-best 15 student-athletes posting GPAs of 3.2 or better to earn CGA All-America Scholar-Athlete nods. Senior Ian Dinmore led Navy's scholastic effort as he completed his USNA career with a perfect 4.0 GPA that tied for best in the Class of 2024 and had him graduate as the class' Salutatorian. Additionally, Dinmore repeated as the NCAA Men's Gymnastics ELITE 90 award winner.
The 2023 Navy team re-loaded on the fly and saw its large sophomore and junior classes push to the forefront of regular season, postseason and international competitions, as well as in the classroom. Under Simons' leadership the Mids went 11-6 in regular season and 5-0 against ECAC foes with a 394.05-393.15 victory over the Army Black Knights highlighting the slate. In the postseason, Navy swept both the USAG and ECAC Championships for the second consecutive season. The cumulation of the Mids' growth under Simons came at the NCAA Championships when seven gymnasts advanced to the championship finals and two, Isaiah Drake and Syam Buradagunta garnered NCAA All-American honors for their respective efforts in the all-around and floor exercise disciplines. Those accolades are the first for the program at the NCAA Championships since Eric Swanson in 1973. Internationally, Drake, who was a member of the U.S. Senior National Development Team, competed at the 2023 DTB Pokal Gymnastics Festival on March 17-19 in Stuttgart, Germant with the American Mixed Cup Team. In the summer of 2023, Drake, Buradagunta and Ronan McQuillan all turned in top-flight scores at the the 2023 Core Hydration Classic (formerly known as the U.S. Classic). Away from the competition gym, Ian Dinmore was named the 2023 NCAA ELITE 90 Award for collegiate men's gymnastics. A leader in the USNA's Class of 2024, Dinmore became just the second-ever Naval Academy student-athlete to earn this exclusive honor.
Personally, Simons was named the 2023 USAG Co-National Coach of the Year following the national meet.
After COVID heavily impacted the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Simons and the 2022 Midshipmen squad found their next gear and was turning in top-level results throughout the regular season and later into the postseason. Navy finished the regular seaon with an overall record of 14-3 with their only losses to the Big Ten's Penn State twice and Illinois once. In the annual Star Meet, Navy cruised to a 17.7-point victory over Army. The win was the fourth straight over Army. Navy also earned its fourth straight All-Academy Championship over Army and Air Force with a 12.25-point advantage over the Black Knights and a 13.6-point edge over the Falcons. The Mids' momentum carried over into the postseason where they finished atop the standings at the USAG Collegiate Championship and a week later at the ECAC Championship. The USAG team title was the second in a row for program, while the ECAC crown extended Navy's win streak to four straight league championships. All together, Navy gymnasts collected five individual titles at the USAGs and six more at the ECACs.
Navy's campaign culminated at the 2022 NCAA Championship in Norman, Oklahoma where more history was made. Competing at the national championship for the seventh time in program history, the Mids posted a team-best seventh-place result with 399.023 points. Among the field of 12 squads, Navy outscored Penn State, Cal, Air Force, Springfield and Army. The Mids' previous team-best result was tenth place. Josh Williams (R) and Giovanni Gambatese (HB) challenged for All-American honors as Williams was 10th, just 0.067 out of eighth, while Gambatese was 0.234 points out in 13th.
During the offseason, the program was once again on the national stage as Isaiah Drake represented the Naval Academy at the 2022 U.S. Classic and the 2022 U.S. Men's Gymnastics Championship. His efforts at the latter earned him one of the highly sought after spots on the United States' Men's Senior National Development Team. Drake is the first member of the Navy men's gymnastics team in modern history to earn a position with either the senior national or senior development teams for U.S. Gymnastics.
Simons garnered accolades as the USAG Varsity and CGA East Regional Coach of the Year in 2022. Additionally, the Navy gymnastics program was awarded the 2021-22 NAAA Director of Athletics Cup.
Simons had a pivotal role in leading the program through a tricky COVID-19 impacted slate in 2021. Competing in both in-person and virtual meets, as well as around a month-long restriction of movement for the Naval Academy, the Mids won the 2021 All-Academy Championship before recording 397.8 points at the ECAC Championship to win its third straight league title. At the NCAA Championship Qualifying Meet, Navy turned in a score of 390.9 to rank 11th in the nation. Individually, six Mids advanced to the event final and three, Ryan McVay (10th in AA), David Toussaint (10th on PH) and Giovanni Gambatese (14th on HB) nearly attained All-American status. Both Toussaint and Gambatese were 0.1 points out of eighth place, while McVay posted a career-best AA score. McVay added to his resume as he concluded his career at the 2021 U.S. Gymnastics Championship. Competing for a chance to represent the United States at the Tokyo Olympics, McVay placed 23rd in the all-around.
In an abridged 2020 campaign, Navy was on its way to a season to remember as the program collected a win the Star Meet over Army (its fourth in five years) and placed first at the All-Academy Championship for the second consecutive year over Air Force and Army. Consistent throughout the year, the Mids scored 402.0 points or more in five of their seven competitions and eventually concluded the shortened season with the fifth-best scoring average in the NCAA ranks at 406.63. Individually, four Mids earned CGA All-American honors, Ben Provost (HB), Cash Buske (HB), Josh Williams (R) and Connor Van Loo (V). As a whole, Navy gymnasts garnered an additional 24 All-ECAC and 12 USAG Collegiate All-America awards.
Simons was recognized as the ECAC, USAG Varsity and CGA East Regional Coach of the Year for his efforts in 2020.
The success for Simons and the Midshipmen hit new levels during the 2019 season when the program won the Star Meet on the road in front of a hostile Army crowd, won the All-Academy Championship for the first time since 2009, placed first at the USAG Collegiate Championship for the first time since 2008, repeated as ECAC champions and then set a program-record with a 10th place result at the NCAA Championship Meet. The team scored a 393.123 in its respective qualifying session to usurp California. Navy’s score also placed ahead of Army’s result in the second session. Ryan McVay (HB), Ryan Orce (PB), Dan Clark (PH) and David Toussaint (FX) all advanced to the NCAA Championship Meet.
Simons garnered accolades as the ECAC, USAG Varsity and CGA East Regional Coach of the Year in 2019.
Academically, Simons had the Midshipmen performing at a high level in the classroom as well as they posted a cumulative GPA of 3.131 for the 2018-19 school year to rank eighth in the nation. Individually, eight Mids earned CGA All-American Scholar-Athlete nods. Team captain Christian Correale led the way once again as he was voted a Google Cloud Second Team All-American.
As a third-year head coach for the Mids in 2018, Navy qualified for the NCAA Championship with the 10th-highest National Qualifying Average (401.550) in the the nation. At the competition at UIC, the Mids finished fifth in session one with a score of 390.921. Overall, that ranked the Mids 11th of 12 teams. Lucas Beltran (V), Trevor North (PB) and David Toussaint (PH) all advanced to the NCAA Championship Meet and the individual event finals.
Simons garnered the CGA East Regional Coach of the Year and ECAC Coach of the Year awards.
In the classroom, Christian Correale was selected as a Google Cloud Academic All-American Third Team honoree. As a team, Navy ranked tenth in the nation with a cumulative GPA of 3.049.
During his second year in Annapolis in 2017, the Mids recreated the magic of 2016 and qualified as a team for the NCAA Championship for the second straight season. Seeded 12th in the field, Navy surpassed that mark and netted 400.65 points in the second session at West Point, N.Y. to finish 11th overall at the meet, edging California by 0.4 points. A pair of championship final qualifiers in Jonny Tang (AA) and Lucas Beltran (FX, V) led the Mids to the highest finish in program history at the national competition.
While competing at the 2017 USAG and ECAC Championships, Navy gymnasts secured five individual event titles: Jonny Tang (ECAC - AA, FX), Tanner West (ECAC - PB), Lucas Beltran (USAG - V) and Ben Provost (USAG - HB).
For their work outside the gym, the Mids had nine gymnasts garner CGA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors in 2017 for GPAs above 3.2. As a team, Navy ranked seventh in the nation with a cumulative GPA of 3.21. The program also earned 2017 Academic Progress Rate (APR) public recognition from the NCAA.
Simons was recognized for the Mids' success as the 2017 CGA East Regional Coach of the Year.
In his first season as the Mids' head coach in 2016, the team reached new heights of success both in and out of the gym. Simons and Navy captured the program's first ECAC Championship since 1989 with a score of 423.4 to tie with Army West Point for the title. A program-record 424.1 score at the All-Academy Championship helped the team earn the league's automatic qualifying spot for the NCAA Championship and break the tie for ECAC supremacy. The Mids' spot as a team at the NCAA Championship was just the second ever in program history and first since 2009. In the national meet in Columbus, Ohio, Navy competed in the first team session and recorded a 410.1 score. Three individuals from the team advanced to the events finals: Jonny Tang (AA), Connor Gonzales (R) and Eric Poletti (R).
Prior to the NCAAs, Simons saw his squad earn 15 All-ECAC honors for top-six performances at the ECAC Championship with Mitchell Larios (V and PB), Eric Morrison (PH) and Gonzales (R) taking home event titles. In the regular season, the Mids defeated the Black Knights of Army in the annual Star Meet, 419.3-413.75.
In the classroom, Connor Westrick was selected as a CoSIDA Academic All-American Third Team honoree, in addition to 10 other Mids earning CGA All-America Scholar-Athletes nods for posting GPAs above 3.2. As a team, Navy ranked fifth in the nation in with a team grade point average of 3.355.
For his team's success in 2016, Simons was recognized as the CGA East Regional Coach of the Year, as well as the ECAC Men's Gymnastics Co-Coach of the Year.
An internationally renown gymnast since 1988, Simons was a four-year member of the United States Senior National team and competed on two world championship teams, as well as with the gold medal winning teams at the 1994 Goodwill Games and 1995 Pan-American Games. His competitive career culminated with a spot on the 1996 United States Olympic team. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Simons was a member of the U.S. team that finished fifth overall.
After retiring from international competition, Simons moved into collegiate coaching at the University of California in 2001. In five seasons from 2001 to 2005, the Bears twice finished in third place at the NCAA Championships and had four individuals win national championships. Simons was named Associate Head Coach of the Bears for his final season in Berkeley.
Beginning with the 2005-06 season, Simons started a 10-year reign in charge of the gymnastics program at the United States Air Force Academy. A five-time USAG Varsity Head Coach of the Year, the Falcons thrived under his leadership and expertise. In both 2012 and 2014, Air Force earned rankings as high as eighth nationally. Simons took a team to the NCAA National Qualifying Meet and saw 15 gymnasts advance into the NCAA Championships in each of his final five years in Colorado Springs. On three occasions under his tutelage Falcon athletes earned NCAA All-American nods, Greg Stine twice in 2008 (all-around and rings) and Tim Wang in 2014 (pommel horse).
In USAG National Championship competition, Simons and Air Force won six straight team titles from 2010 through 2015 and collected 28 individual event titles. Amongst the service academies, the Falcons won each of the last six meetings at the annual All-Academy Championship Meet between Air Force, Army and Navy.
In recognition of his team’s success at Air Force Simons was the recipient of four CGA Collegiate Division National Head Coach of the Year awards (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013), as well as two NCAA Regional Head of the Year (2008, 2010) and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year (2006, 2014) honors, respectively.
A 1994 graduate from Ohio State University, Simons earned numerous honors throughout his four years with the Buckeyes, including Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the Nissen-Emery Award, as the nation’s top senior gymnast. He was a four-year member of the All-Big 10 and earned conference titles on the parallel bars (1992, 1994), still rings (1992) and high bar (1993). Simons garnered two NCAA All-America certificates during his time in Columbus. In September 2006, the Varsity “O” Association inducted him into Ohio State’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
For his work and success throughout the sport, Simons was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in the summer of 2010. He was joined in the 2010 induction class by 1996 Olympic team gold medalist Dominique Moceanu, 1992 Olympic team bronze medalist Wendy Bruce-Martin, 2000 Olympian Jennifer Parilla, two-time U.S. Men's Olympic team head coach Kevin Mazeika and 2000 U.S. Olympic trampoline coach Robert Null.
