ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy gymnastics team had a strong all-around performance from start to finish on Saturday in an ECAC matchup versus William & Mary. In their first head-to-head meet of the 2022 season and a precursor to next week's Army-Navy Star Meet, the Mids (1-0) dominated the Tribe (0-1) and outscored the visitors in all six disciplines on their way to securing a 390.25 to 354.60 victory at Halsey Field House.
 
Individually, Navy gymnasts won a total of five different events with Isaiah Drake (Fr., Los Angeles, Calif.) finishing first on the pommel horse and parallel bars, while Josh Williams (Sr., Cypress, Texas) was the top finisher on the rings. Connor Van Loo (Jr., Freeland, Mich.) and Cash Buske (Sr., Madison, Wisc.) rounded out the top performers for Navy on the vault and high bar, respectively.
 
As a team, Navy scored 64.1 points on the floor exercise, 63.95 on the pommel horse, 66.35 on the rings, 70.75 on the vault, 65.1 on the parallel bars and 60.0 on the high bar.
 
"We are starting to hit our stride," remarked head coach Kip Simons. "Our hit percentage continues to increase each week and our increase in difficulty is showing signs of paying off as we work through our early season. Our strategy today was to rest a few guys to have a peak performance next week against Army. Collectively, we got the job done. The averages continue to climb coupled with moments of brilliance today from Josh Williams on the rings and Nehemiah Baker on the vault. If we stay focused and continue to do the right work, this team can do something special in the postseason."
 
The action on Saturday opened with the Mids breaking out to a 3.9-point advantage courtesy of their work on the floor exercise. Navy's lineup finished consecutively in positions two through six with scores between 13.0 and 12.6. Van Loo was the leading Midshipmen gymnast on the floor as he netted a 13.0, that was just 0.05 points shy of William & Mary's Will Harrington, who placed first. Caleb Hickey (So., Carthage, N.C.) and Williams tied for third place with matching 12.9 scores, while Erik Engelke (So., Henrico, Va.) and Syam Buradagunta (So., Westborough, Mass.) rounded out Navy's lineup with 12.7 and 12.6 efforts, respectively.
 
The Mids' lead increased over six points on the next apparatus, the pommel horse. Drake dominated the field as he earned 13.7 points for his routine on Saturday. Buradagunta made it two Navy gymnasts in the top-two as he recorded a 13.1 for his pommel horse effort. Dan Clark (Sr., Avon, Mass.) and Ronan McQuillan (So., Katy, Texas) rounded out the top-five with respective scores of 12.75 and 12.7.
 
Navy continued putting space between itself and William & Mary on the rings on the strength of a dominant 14.35 effort from Williams. The senior's level of difficulty was a 15.2 and he executed it with 9.1 and 9.2 scores. A clean sweep of the top-five on the rings continued as Dhiren Lutchman (Sr., Beltsville, Md.) and Drake came in second and third with results of 13.45 and 13.15. The freshmen duo of Vishal Mandava (Cypress, Texas) and Riley Rose (Las Vegas, Nev.) finished back-to-back as they recorded 12.85 and 12.55 scores, respectively.
 
The high-level performances continued on the vault as four Mids earned 14.0 or better scores led by Van Loo's first place 14.5. Drake and Nehemiah Baker (Sr., Oak Ridge, N.C.) also nailed their vaults as Drake was awarded a 14.35, while Baker was right behind with a 14.2. Williams concluded the stretch of four straight Navy gymnasts atop the standings as he had a 14.15 vault on Saturday.
 
Similar to the rings, the Mids went 1-2-3-4-5 on the parallel bars. Drake won his second event of the afternoon as he scored 13.4 points for his effort on the p-bars. Lutchman earned his second second-place result as he netted a 13.3 score. Giovanni Gambatese (Jr., Pewaukee, Wisc.) was the third Mid with a score of 13.0-plus as he turned a 13.2 that ranked him third overall. Mandava and Hickey were the final two scorers for Navy as Mandava was fourth with a 12.85, while Hickey was fifth with a 12.35.
 
Improving each week, Buske posted his highest score of 2022 as he ruled over the field on the high bar. The senior placed first on the apparatus by 0.80 points with a 13.1 score. Following William & Mary's Sam Lee in the standings, Hickey completed his busy day with a 12.0 effort on the high bar. Gambatese was the third Mid in the top-five as he placed fourth courtesy of an 11.85.
 
Following Navy's dominant 35.65-point victory over William & Mary on Saturday, the Mids will turn their attention to their annual Star Meet competition versus the Black Knights of Army West Point. The 2022 Star Meet will be hosted by Navy at Halsey Field House with the first touch scheduled for 2 p.m.