Jan. 24, 2009
Results
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy gymnast Dylan Parrott (So./Rockwell, N.C.) won the all-around and high bar to lead the Midshipmen to a first-place performance out of six schools in the Navy Open at Macdonough Hall on Saturday afternoon.
No. 9 Navy (9-1) posted a team score of 332.5 points, more than three points higher than last week's performance at the West Point Open. William & Mary finished in second place with 327.75 points, followed by No. 10 Temple's 326.35 points, No. 12 Springfield's 324.15 points, No. 14 Air Force's 324.1 points and MIT's 307.65 points.
The Midshipmen led all schools on the parallel bars (53.35 points) and high bar (56.45 points), while placing second on the floor exercise (57.35 points), pommel horse (52.0 points), still rings (54.0 points) and vault (59.35 points).
"I am pleased with how our guys competed today," stated Navy head coach Dr. Sho Fukushima. "We must continue to train and we are not where we want to be at the end of the year. We have a long way to go and need to repeat the routines more so that we are more comfortable."
Parrott scored higher than a 13.0 in five of the six events to total 83.55 points in the all-around competition, 2.35 more than his performance last week and 1.25 points above second-place gymnast Derek Gygax from William & Mary. Parrott topped the field on the high bar with an impressive 14.7-point routine to close out Navy's day. The Navy sophomore began his day with a second-place score of 14.85 points on the floor exercise and placed seventh on both the pommel horse (13.1 points) and vault (14.8 points).
"Dylan is regaining the confidence he displayed one year ago," said Fukushima. "He's really beginning to cover on some of his weaker events. He is maturing and thinking a lot. We know that he will continue to improve."
Joseph Atzenbeck (Sr./Broomfield, Colo.) enjoyed a stellar performance in three events on Saturday. Atzenbeck placed second on both the parallel bars (13.7 points) and high bar (14.3 points). Earlier in the day, the Navy senior finished sixth on the pommel horse with a 13.15-point routine.
Classmates James Godfrey (Sr./Columbia, S.C.) and team captain Adam Stanton (Sr./Centennial, Colo.) both finished among the top-six gymnasts in two disciplines. Godfrey placed second on the vault (15.05 points) and fourth on the floor exercise (14.55 points), while Stanton landed fifth on the pommel horse (13.25 points) and sixth on the parallel bars (13.35 points).
Rookie gymnast Andrew Faulk (Fr./San Antonio, Texas) placed fifth in the all-around with a total score of 79.6 points. Faulk scored at least a 13.0 in four of the six events, highlighted by a ninth-place 13.7-point performance on the still rings.
The Midshipmen will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 3:30 p.m., when they head up to the Gross Sports Center in West Point, N.Y., for the annual Star Meet against Army. The Mids defeated the Black Knights, 329.15-317.75, last week in the West Point Open. Navy claimed the N-Star with a convincing 340.75-322.6 victory over Army during last year's Star Meet in Annapolis.
