March 22, 2013

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -

The Navy gymnastics team will compete against Temple and No. 13 Army on Saturday at 2 p.m. at McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia, Pa. Saturday's competition will be Navy's last before beginning its stretch of championship meets.

Young Mids Gaining Experience
With a combined 19 underclassmen that includes 12 freshmen and seven sophomores, Navy is the youngest NCAA Division I men's gymnastics team. Only Cal has more freshmen (13) than Navy, while the Mids are the only team in the nation without a senior on their roster.

A total of seven freshmen have seen action in at least six meets this season. Last weekend against William & Mary, a pair of freshmen in Andrew Potts and Connor Westrick competed in events for the first time this season. Potts competed in both the vault and parallel bars for the first time and Westrick took part in the high bar.

Rookie Mitchell Larios leads Navy with a 13.677 average on the parallel bars and classmate Eric Poletti has the team's highest average score in the high bar at 13.6.

A Closer Look at the Teams
Here is a look at the four-score average for all three teams.

Navy's Season-High Scores

Team - 407.3 (All-Academy Championships, Feb. 16)
Floor Exercise - 70.55 (All-Academy Championships, Feb. 16)
Pommel Horse - 66.95 (Army, Feb. 23)
Rings - 70.4 (William & Mary, March 9)
Vault - 71.45 (Army, Feb. 23)
Parallel Bars - 67.7 (Army, Feb. 23)
High Bar - 67.6 (Navy Open, Jan. 19)

The Last Time Out
Thomas Goodell, Eric Poletti and Eric Potts led Navy as the Mids fell on the road at No. 12 William & Mary, 417.05-401.65. Goodell posted a career-high score of 14.45 in the rings, taking second place. Poletti and Potts both scored a 13.85 on the high bar, tying for second place.

Up Next
Navy will begin the championship stretch of its schedule next weekend when it competes in the USAG Collegiate Division Tournament, March 29-30 in Williamsburg, Va.