WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Navy gymnastics team concluded competition at the 2023 West Point Open on Saturday night in the event finals with six podium-worthy results.
Connor Van Loo (Sr., Freeland, Mich.) paced the Midshipmen as he won the floor exercise crown, in addition to finishing third on the vault.
The Mids' lone senior in action on Saturday night, Van Loo was outstanding out of the gate as he hit his 5.3-point floor exercise routine with an 8.95 execution score for a grand total of 14.25 points and the event's gold medal. His performance edged Penn State's Matt Cormier by 0.05 points for the title and his fellow Navy gymnast
Syam Buradagunta (Jr., Westborough, Mass.) by 0.1 points as Buradagunta turned in a 14.15 effort on the floor to rank third overall.
The Mids' third medal of the finals was earned by
Ronan McQuillan (Jr., Katy, Texas), who scored a 13.3 for his pommel horse routine to rank sixth overall. He held off Nebraska's Cooper Giles for the final spot on the six-man podium by 0.05 points.
Van Loo fought his way back onto the podium with a near-perfect vault on Saturday night. Van Loo earned the highest execution score in the field with a 9.75 grade to augment his 4.9 starting value for a combined 14.65 score. He was just 0.05 points behind Nebraska's Liam Doherty-Herwitz, who posted a 14.7 for his respective vault.
Navy's high bar duo of juniors
Erik Engelke (Henrico, Va.) and
Caleb Hickey (Carthage, N.C.) rounded out the Mids' collection of medals in the event finals as they finished back-to-back in third and fourth place on the high bar. Engelke took home bronze with a 12.8 score that bested his classmate by 0.3 points as Hickey came in fourth with a 12.5.
Additionally,
Sabastian Gordon (So., Old Tappan, N.J.) was in action on Saturday night in the finals for the rings competition. The sophomore fell just short of reaching the podium as Army's JoJo Buselmeier earned the final spot with a 12.65 versus a 12.3 result for Gordon.
Navy's entire team will be back in the gym this coming Saturday, Jan. 21 as the program hosts its annual Navy Open. Army, Ohio State, Penn State, Simpson College, Springfield College and William & Mary are scheduled to compete in one of the deepest fields in the recent history of the open. First touch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Halsey Fieldhouse.
