ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 2019 Gymnastics Star will be up for grabs on Saturday when the No. 9 Navy Midshipmen and No. 12 Army Black Knights face off at the Gross Center on the campus of West Point. An extremely tight and competitive series over the last five years, the Mids and Black Knights have alternated wins with each squad earning victories at home. The 2019 meet is slated to begin at 1 p.m. All of the action will be streamed for free by Army over their Knight Vision network. The 2018-19 Star Series between Army and Navy is presented by USAA.
Saturday will be the second time in 2019 that the Mids and Black Knights have competed at the same event as the teams matched up at the West Point Open on January 11. That day, Navy bested Army 395.6 to 392.1 to finish second overall in the six-team field. The Mids outscored the Black Knights on the floor exercise (68.10-66.25), pommel horse (65.70-64.25), vault (70.05-69.60) and the high bars (63.85-62.50), while the hosts edged Navy on the rings (66.3-65.05) and the parallel bars (63.20-62.85).
Last Time Out
Navy secured its first dual meet win of its young 2019 season last Saturday as the Mids (1-0) defeated the William & Mary Tribe (0-1) 394.25 to 390.60. Though Midshipmen gymnasts only collected two event wins, the team's depth was on display at the EIGL meet in Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, Va. as Navy out-pointed William & Mary on five of the six apparatuses.
As a team, Navy scored 66.1 points on the floor exercise, 68.25 on the pommel horse, 65.9 on the rings, 69.35 on the vault, 62.25 on the parallel bars and 62.4 on the high bar. In a close meet, the Mids' 4.20-point advantage over the first two rotations, the floor exercise (66.1-64.35) and the pommel horse (68.25-65.80) played a huge role in the overall outcome.
Ben Provost and
Frank Bradley led Navy's individual standouts on Saturday as Provost placed first on the floor exercise, in addition to finishing second on the high bar, while Bradley was the top-scorer on the vault.
David Toussaint and
Ryan Orce were also important to the Mids' success as Toussaint earned top-three results on the floor and pommel horse. Orce competed in four events versus the Tribe and placed top-four in three of them.
Additionally, freshman
Josh Williams was a key contributor in a trio of events for the Mids. He started his day with a floor exercise score of 13.4 that was fourth-best in the field. On rings he scored a 12.9 that placed him in seventh before closing his meet with a 13.6-point effort on the vault that was good for eighth. For his work, he was recognized as the ECAC Men's Gymnastics Rookie of the Week
Navy vs. Army
2018 Matchup
Navy had its finest showing of the young 2018 season with the bright lights of the Star Meet shining down upon it on February 3. Coming into the meet as the favorites on the basis of season average scoring, the Mids made sure there would be no deviation from that outcome or those numbers as the team posted an 11.2-point victory over Army, by a final score of 402.9-391.7. Invigorated by a boisterous standing-room only crowd at Macdonough Hall, the Mids won five of the six events had individuals finish first on five different apparatuses.
As a team, Navy posted a 68.1 on the floor exercise, a 65.35 on the pommel horse, a 68.2 on the rings, a 69.45 on the vault, a 64.45 on the parallel bars and a 67.35 on the high bar.
In the true team fashion that has carried Navy throughout the first half of its season, five different Mids found themselves on the top of the event standings on Saturday.
David Toussaint topped the pommel horse rankings,
Ryan McVay on the rings,
Frank Bradley on the vault,
Tanner West on the parallel bars and team captain
Noah Beeman on the high bar.
Last 5 Star Meets
2018 (Annapolis): Navy 402.9 - Army 391.7
2017 (West Point): Army 405.85 - Navy 402.8
2016 (Annapolis): Navy 419.3 - Army 413.75
2015 (West Point): Army 421.6 - Navy 414.55
2014 (Annapolis): Navy 422.3 - Army 420.1
Event Comparisons (2019 Season Averages/Single-Meet High Score)
|
Navy |
Army |
| A-A |
396.8/400.55 |
392.72/395.05 |
| FX |
67.33/68.1 |
67.87/69.65 |
| PH |
65.88/68.25 |
63.47/64.25 |
| R |
66.52/68.6 |
65.25/67.0 |
| V |
70.05/70.75 |
68.73/69.6 |
| PB |
63.0/63.9 |
63.63/64.7 |
| HB |
64.02/65.8 |
63.77/65.3 |
Individuals to Watch
2019 Season averages listed
| Navy |
Army West Point |
| Floor Exercise |
|
| David Toussaint, 13.462 |
Matt Davis, 14.088 |
| Ben Provost, 13.438 |
Cole Casanova, 13.75 |
| Travis Keller, 13.4 |
Elliott Herman, 13.283 |
| Pommel Horse |
|
| Ryan Orce, 13.55 |
Brandon Shively, 13.067 |
| David Toussaint, 13.525 |
Cole Casanova, 13.0 |
| Max Gerber, 12.533 |
Matt Martin, 12.7 |
| Rings |
|
| Ryan McVay, 13.467 |
Cole Casanova, 13.663 |
| Ryan Orce, 13.4 |
Matt Davis, 13.575 |
| Christian Correale, 13.3 |
Taka Giese, 13.083 |
| Vault |
|
| Lucas Beltran, 14.2 |
Cole Casanova, 13.9 |
| Frank Bradley, 14.0 |
Alejandro Suarez, 13.817 |
| Travis Keller, 13.925 |
Matt Davis, 13.767 |
| Parallel Bars |
|
| Ryan Orce, 13.475 |
Cole Casanova, 13.275 |
| Dhiren Lutchman, 12.85 |
Alejandro Suarez, 12.733 |
| Max Gerber, 12.417 |
Taka Giese, 12.583 |
| High Bar |
|
| Dhiren Lutchman, 13.2 |
Cole Casanova, 12.783 |
| Ben Provost, 13.125 |
Matt Davis, 12.783 |
| Cash Buske, 12.85 |
Darrel Yamamura, 12.75 |
2018-19 Star Series
Saturday's meet is one of four Army-Navy Star competitions in West Point on the day that are part of the yearlong Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA. Rifle (9 a.m.), Men's Track & Field (10 a.m.), Women's Track & Field (10 a.m.) join gymnastics on Saturday's docket of action.
