DANBURY, Conn. - In the second Eastern College Athletic Conference weekly men's gymnastics awards announcement of the 2020 season, Navy was once again in the spotlight as the Mids earned two of the league's three honors. Lucas Beltran (Sr., Corpus Christi, Texas) and Giovanni Gambatese (Fr., Pewaukee, Wisc.) were recognized as the ECAC Specialist and Rookie of the Week for their respective efforts at last Saturday's Navy Open.

Beltran, a senior floor exercise and vault specialist was at the forefront of the Mids' performance on Saturday as the team won the 2020 Navy Open by 25.0 points over a field of William & Mary, Springfield and Temple. In a day in which the Mids scored 407.8 points, Beltran led the way with first-place results on the floor exercise (14.15) and the vault (14.8). In a well-rounded team effort, he was the only Mid to win multiple events as five different Navy gymnasts placed first at the meet.

In his first collegiate meet, Gambatese competed in three events at the Navy Open and placed top-seven on all three apparatuses. He was second on the rings with a score of 13.2, fifth on the parallel bars with a 12.95 and seventh on the high bar courtesy of a 12.55-point effort. Gambatese finished runner-up to his teammate Josh Williams on the rings on Saturday.

This is the fifth career ECAC weekly honor in Beltran's career after he won three Specialist of the Week nods in 2019, as well as a Rookie of the Week accolade in 2017. Gambatese is a first-time recipient.

Beltran, Gambatese and their Midshipmen teammates will be back in action this Saturday afternoon with a one-on-one matchup versus William & Mary at home. First touch between the Mids and Tribe is set for 2 p.m. at Macdonough Hall.