WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Navy gymnastics team's pursuit of a second straight Star Meet victory over Army was diverted by a season-best performance from the host Black Knights on Saturday. Coming into the annual meet separated by one spot in the national standings and 6.38 points in their respective season averages, the action promised to be tight and the spectators at Army's Gross Center were treated to such an event as the No. 13 Black Knights defeated the No. 12 Mids by a final score of 405.85-402.8.

Close throughout the contest, Navy held a slim 0.1-point lead after the fourth rotation, vault, before Army earned a 1.05-point victory on the parallel bars and a 2.1-point advantage on the high bar to take the lead and conclude the event as the victor. The host Black Knights' depth and experience proved pivotal as Midshipmen gymnasts secured the top individual scoring position in four of the six events, but just not enough other top-five finishes.

In its victory, Army exceeded its season average by 12.8 points, while Navy surpassed its season average as well, to the tune of 3.37 points.

"Wow, what a hard fought battle today between two very well prepared teams," exclaimed head coach Kip Simons. "Our athletes executed the game plan which makes the outcome even more difficult to accept. Our plebes became men today hitting 18 of 19 routines."

Individually, the trio of Jonny Tang (Sr., Malvern, Pa.), Lucas Beltran (Fr., Corpus Christi, Texas) and Wyatt LaPointe (Sr., Mechanicsburg, Pa.) led the Mids' effort. All three gymnasts finished atop the scoring column for at least one event. Tang was the meet's top all-arounder with a score of 82.1, as well as the top parallel bar competitor with a 14.25. Beltran posted top scorers on the floor exercise and the vault with respective scores of 13.85 and 14.9. LaPointe rounded out the top finishers for Navy as he recorded a 14.55 on the rings to outscore the field by 0.8 points.

Simons praised the performance of his seniors on Saturday, "Jonny once again showed his ability to get the job done in high pressure situations. Wyatt was outstanding too as his leadership and experience was perfect today."

A back-and-forth competition, the meet began with Navy edging Army in the floor exercise, 65.9-65.5. A sweep of the top two positions by Beltran (13.85) and Tang (13.7) led the Mids. On the ensuing rotation, the pommel horse, the Black Knights took their first lead of the meet with a 66.55-64.7 result. Freshmen Frank Bradley (McLean, Va.) and Ryan Orce (Gainesville, Fla.) ranked in the top-five with Bradley's 13.35 good for third and Orce's 13.1 placing fifth.

Down 132.05-130.6 in the cumulative standings, Navy recaptured the lead with a 1.55-point margin of victory on the rings. LaPointe's event win led the Mids' strongest event outcome. Navy gymnasts secured three of the top-five spots on the leaderboard with Tanner West (Fr., Cypress, Texas) and Tang coming in second and fourth, respectively with scores of 13.75 and 13.65.

A 0.1-point edge on the vault for Army closed Navy's lead down to a paper-thin 269.15-269.05 advantage through four rotations. Though the Mids hit a season-high 70.65 on the apparatus and got the top individual score from Beltran, the Black Knights placed second through fifth to gather the slight team victory.

Going into the final two events, the season averages would've projected that Navy (66.083-PBars & 65.25-HBar) had a strong chance to hold on against an Army club that came in averaging 64.25 on the parallel bars and 66.017 on the high bar. Unfortunately for the visiting Mids, a 66.4 on the parallel bars and 67.25 on the high bar would not be enough as the Black Knights came out and turned in performances over three points better than their season averages at 67.45 and 69.35 respectively.

Tang's win on the parallel bars was backed up by a fifth-place result by Trevor North (Fr., Johnstown, Ohio), who scored a 13.3.

Tang was the lone Mid to finish in the top-five on the high bar as he ranked third overall at 14.15.

"Losing to Army is tough, but we will grow and begin preparation to see them again on neutral territory," said Simons.

The Mids and Black Knights will get a chance to face off again in just seven days as part of the All-Academy Championship next Saturday, Feb. 11 at 3 p.m. ET. The three-team meet in San Antonio, Texas will also welcome the defending All-Academy Champions, the Air Force Falcons. The neutral site meet will be hosted at the Mission Concepcion Sports Complex as part of the 2017 San Antonio Invitational.