ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy gymnastics team had the privilege of volunteering with the Honor Flight program this past weekend. On Saturday, eight members of the team travelled to the BWI airport to welcome a host of military veterans as they came to the Nation's Capital. The Honor Flight Network honors America's veterans for their sacrifices and transports them to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials.

"First of all, I want to say thank you to Honor Flight and everything they do for America's veterans," remarked junior Vadim Ivanov. "It was an incredibly humbling experience greeting the 23 World War II veterans and one Korean War veteran as they stepped off the plane. We could not thank them enough for everything they did for this country and all of the sacrifices they made so that we could live as free Americans."

Ivanov was joined by teammates Andy Jones, Ryan Orce, Lucas Beltran, Ben Provost, Frank Bradley, Mark Pickar and Trevor North on Saturday.

"I'm so proud to coach a group of young men who unprovoked, took time out of their busy schedules to greet these American heroes as they stepped off the plane at BWI," said head coach Kip Simons. "12 week exams are upon us and our preparation for the conference championship is front and center and yet our student athletes value not only their academics and athletics but they also value service towards those that have served."

Navy will be back in action this Saturday at the ECAC Championships in Chicago, Ill. at the University of Illinois Chicago.