ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Competing for the first time at its new facility, Halsey Field House, the Navy gymnastics team had its second straight strong outing in as many weeks as the Mids finished runner-up to the Penn State Nittany Lions as part of the multi-team 2022 Navy Open. At the conclusion of the action on Saturday, the Nittany Lions claimed the team title with 385.85 points, just 1.65 points ahead of the Mids, who recorded a score of 384.20.
 
The final standings saw Penn State and Navy go one-two, ahead of Springfield College, William & Mary and Temple. The Pride placed third with 372.65 points, while the Tribe and Owls finished with scores of 367.45 and 334.10, respectively.
 
Navy's lineup was stout throughout the meet and helped the host squad post the highest scores on floor exercise, the rings and the high bar. The Mids' five-man lineups outscored the field by over four points on the floor and over two points on the high bar.
 
Standout efforts by Isaiah Drake (Fr., Los Angeles, Calif.) and Giovanni Gambatese (Jr., Pewaukee, Wisc.) resulted in first place individual outcomes on the floor exercise and high bar, respectively. Ronan McQuillan (So., Katy, Texas) was the third Mid to win an event on Saturday as he held off a pair of Nittany Lions on the pommel horse.
 
As a team, Navy scored 65.4 points on the floor exercise, 56.6 on the pommel horse, 67.0 on the rings, 66.8 on the vault, 63.35 on the parallel bars and 65.05 on the high bar.
 
"What a battle in our first home competition of the season in our new Halsey Field House gym," remarked head coach Kip Simons. "The place was packed and the fans were electric. It always stings to lose a close competition at home. Great teams find a way to close out close battles and we've had two opportunities in a row late versus Penn State these first two weeks to start of the season. I see this as a tremendous learning opportunity that will benefit us as we continue to develop this squad throughout the season. We'll make some adjustments in our personnel and begin preparation for William & Mary at home next week and Army the week after.
 
"There were many gutsy performances to celebrate today. Our high bar team has shown consistency and could prove to be one of the best in the country."
 
Led by Drake's first-place finish, the Mids' floor exercise had three of the top-four scores on Saturday. Drake's routine earned him 13.85 points to best Penn State's Kaleb Booth by 0.15 points. The sophomore duo of Erik Engelke (Henrico, Va.) and Caleb Hickey (Carthage, N.C.) went back-to-back in the standings in third and fourth place with respective scores of 13.55 and 13.40.
 
Navy's youth also showed well on the next apparatus, the pommel horse. McQuillan was the highest scorer in the field of 25 gymnasts as he was awarded a 13.35-point score. Syam Buradagunta (So., Westborough, Mass.) and Engelke gave the Mids three in the top-nine as Buradagunta placed seventh with a 11.60, while Engelke was ninth at 11.50.
 
The veterans of Navy's roster took the baton on the rings as Alexander Brown (Sr., Lafayette, La.) and Josh Williams (Sr., Cypress, Texas) went head-to-head with Penn State's duo of Michael Jaroh and Robbie Shamp. Behind a career-best score of 14.1, Brown placed second overall, 0.1 points behind Jaroh. Williams came in third on the rings with a 13.9, that helped him finish comfortably ahead of Shamp, who was fourth at 13.55. Dhiren Lutchman (Sr., Beltsville, Md.) and Riley Rose (Fr., Las Vegas, Nev.) aided Navy's effort with respective scores of 13.15 and 13.0, that placed them eighth and tenth overall.
 
Williams backed up his strong rings performance with a sixth-place result on the vault courtesy of his 14.0 score.

A pair of Mids finished in the top-eight on the parallel bars led by Lutchman. The Mids' senior captain challenged Penn State's captain Ethan Dick for the event win as he recorded a career-best score of 13.95. Dick ended up in first place with a 14.15. Gambatese backed up Lutchman's score with 12.7 points. Vishal Mandava (Fr., Cypress, Texas) ended up just outside of the top-10 as he was 11th with a score of 12.55.
 
Navy's high bar team hit on all five of its routines and finished with five top-10 scores. Gambatese was securely at the top of the standings as he recorded a 13.6 score. Drake came in directly behind his teammate with 13.25 points. After a trio of Nittany Lions ranked three through five, the Midshipmen duo of Cash Buske (Sr., Madison, Wisc.) and Rose placed sixth and seventh with scores of 12.9 and 12.8, respectively. Buradagunta rounded out the high performing quintet with a score of 12.5 that was good for tenth place.
 
Navy's first head-to-head competition lies ahead next weekend as William & Mary will return to Halsey Field House on Saturday for a 2 p.m. meet.