UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Navy men's gymnastics team had a night for the record books on Saturday at the 2023 NCAA Championships as the duo of
Syam Buradagunta (Jr., Westborough, Mass.) and
Isaiah Drake (So., Los Angeles, Calif.) garnered NCAA Championship All-American honors for the first time 1973 when Eric Swanson finished on the podium for the pommel horse. Buradagunta earned his chance in the spotlight for his efforts on the floor exercise, while Drake proved his prowess across all six apparatus in the all-around competition on Saturday night at Penn State's Rec Hall.
"I'm extremely proud of the team," remarked head coach Kip Simons. "We're a little disappointed in our team performance from yesterday, but we had seven guys go out there tonight and represent our program and the Naval Academy in the way that they did; they were just studs out there tonight. They went out there and didn't hold anything back. They pushed as far as they could. They gave it everything that they had and we came away with two All-Americans! The first time in 50 years!
Competing in the all-around in the NCAA Championship Finals for the second time in his young career, Drake was hitting on all cylinders on Saturday night. Starting on the rings, the sophomore turned in the 19th-best score of 13.733. He followed that up with a 14.266 score on the vault that ranked 27th. Staying consistent throughout his all-around quest, Drake posted a 13.866 on the parallel bars, that was good for 22nd in the field. He improved his placement one spot on the ensuing apparatus, the high bar as he finished 21st with a 13.366. Building up a strong scoring foundation with just two events to go, Drake nailed his floor exercise routine and registered his second-best score of the evening with a 14.166 that tied for 14th amongst 42 participants. With an All-American award within his reach, he closed out his day with 11.866 points on the pommel horse. Those final decimal points proved important as he held onto the final spot on the podium and placed eighth overall with a cumulative score of 81.263. A testament to how close the fight for All-American was on Saturday night, fifth (Penn State's Matt Cormier) through ninth place (Air Force's Oliver Zavel) were separated by just 1.3 points.
Buradagunta's quest for All-American glory also came with considerable anxiety as he performed his floor exercise routine to begin the fourth rotation. At the time, his score of 14.333 ranked fourth overall, but the scoreboard watching immediately kicked in as Stanford, Illinois and Michigan, all squads that eventually finished in the top-three of the team standings, were next up. With each ensuing rotation, the scoreboard saw Stanford's Nick Kuebler jump into first place on the fourth rotation before Illinois' Connor McCool edged Buradagunta by 0.2 points in the fifth turn. Standing sixth with just Michigan left to go, only the Wolverines' Fred Richard and Landon Blixt posted better scores and Buradagunta ended up an All-American in eighth place.
In addition to Drake and Buradagunta, the Mids had five other athletes performing in the event finals as part of the NCAA Championship meet. The floor exercise was the most popular apparatus for Navy gymnasts on Saturday night as
Ian Dinmore (Jr., Odenton, Md.) and
Matthew Rosendahl (Jr., Upperco, Md.) each performed before a packed Rec Hall. Dinmore was efficient with his routine and garnered a score of 13.966 to rank 21st in the field. Rosendahl was 0.466 points back with a 13.5 result that placed him 38th overall.
Competing for the final time in his decorated collegiate career,
Connor Van Loo (Sr., Freeland, Mich.) hit his 4.8-level vault with an 9.5-level of execution for a score of 14.3 that was good for 25th in the field of 42.
William Champagne (So., Douglas, Mass.) and
Caleb Hickey (Jr., Carthage, N.C.) each competed as individuals on the parallel bars and high bar, respectively on Saturday. Champagne battled throughout his parallel bars routine and placed 40th overall with a score of 12.333, while Hickey came in 34th on the high bar with a 13.0 mark.
"I can't tell you how proud I am of this team and the grind that we've been through since August and to cap it off with two All-Americans is amazing!," exclaimed Simons. "I'm so proud to coach these guys. For our seniors, who will graduate and commission next month; they're off to do great things in the Marine Corps and the Navy. This is a proud coaching moment for me."
