COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The postseason journey for the No. 9 Navy men's gymnastics team began on Friday with action at the 2024 USAG Collegiate Championship. Taking on a talented six-team field, in which the top-four programs were separated by just 2.6 points in scoring average entering Friday's competition, the Mids posted a season-high score of 398.25, but unfortunately came up just short of the host No. 10 Air Force Falcons' victorious score of 401.65. No. 11 Greenville University grabbed the final spot on the podium for the team event at Cadet West Gym with a 390.75 effort.

The remainder of the standings saw No. 12 Springfield place fourth at 388.35, while No. 14 William & Mary was fifth with a 381.35 score. No. 15 Simpson College rounded out the field with 358.85 points on Friday.

The USAG Collegiate Championship dates back to 1983 and is open to Division I, II or III, four-year institutions with gymnastics as a varsity sport that provide two or less full scholarships, as well as the military academies. The top-eight scorers on each apparatus, with a maximum of two gymnasts per team will advance to Saturday's individual event finals.

Individually, the Mids were led by 10 different gymnasts qualifying for Saturday's event finals. Matthew Petros (So., Broadview Heights, Ohio) highlighted the team's success after placing first on the vault and parallel bars and tying for fifth on the high bar. Syam Buradagunta (Sr., Westborough, Mass.), Isaiah Drake (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.), Ronan McQuillan (Sr., Katy, Texas), Vishal Mandava (Jr., Cypress, Texas), Riley Rose (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev.) all turned in top-five results on individual events to bolster Navy's effort.

As a team, Navy scored 67.85 points on the floor exercise, 65.10 on the pommel horse, 63.95 on the rings, 69.90 on the vault, 65.55 on the parallel bars and 65.90 on the high bar. The Mids' floor exercise score was a season-high, while their high bar performance was the second-best of 2024.

"We accomplished our goal of reaching 398 points today," remarked head coach Kip Simons. "We keep improving each weekend which is what you want to see at this point of the season."

The first of six events for Navy on Friday was the parallel bars. Petros spearheaded the Mids' effort with a score of 13.85 that was best in the 32-gymnast field. He held off Air Force's Oliver Zavel and Garrett Braunton, who went back-to-back with 13.8 and 13.75 scores, respectively. Fellow sophomore Danilo Viciana (Marietta, Ga.) finished 10th on the apparatus with a 13.15 result. Daniel Gurevich (Fr., Frisco, Texas) just missed making the top-10 as he posted a 13.0 to tie for 11th overall.

Petros' fast start continued on the ensuing event, the high bar as he turned in the second-best score in Navy's lineup with a 13.4. Mandava took top honors for the Mids on the high bar with a score of 13.45, that trailed third-place Ricky Pizem of William & Mary by just 0.05 points. Drake made it three Navy gymnasts in a row as he followed up Mandava and Petros in sixth place at 13.3. Caleb Hickey (Sr., Carthage, N.C.) was also strong in his high bar performance as he tied for eighth with a mark of 13.05.

The Mids' best score by its floor exercise team this season came courtesy of four top-13 routines on Friday. Buradagunta challenged for the top-spot with a 13.9 result that tied him for fourth and came in 0.25 points shy of Air Force's Oliver Zavel. In his first USAG Championship competition, Colby Prince (So., Lithia, Fla.) registered a 13.7 score that ranked ninth in the field. Freshmen Brian Solomon (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Daniel Gurevich finished consecutively with scores of 13.55 and 13.50, respectively; Solomon ended up tied for 11th, while Gurevich was 13th.

Navy lost a bit of steam in its one-on-one battle with Air Force for the team title on the pommel horse as the Falcons saw all five of their gymnasts post top-16 scores, including a 15.4-point effort by Patrick Hoopes. Raising his hand as the Mids' anchor on the event, McQuillan turned in a proficient score of 13.95 to rank third in the field. That score is the senior's second-best of the season and highest since early January. Gurevich continued the excellent second half to his debut campaign with a career-best score of 13.7, that was good for sixth overall on Friday. Buradagunta gave Navy three Mids in the top-11 as he tied for 11th with a 13.15 result.

Navy continued fighting down the stretch as a trio of Mids placed amongst the top-nine on the rings. Rose was the torchbearer for the rings team with a 13.2 effort that tied Air Force's Tai Gopaul for fifth. The Massachusetts duo of William Champagne (Jr., Douglas, Mass.) and Solomon nearly mirrored each other as Champagne posted a 12.95 to finish eighth, while Solomon went for a 12.9 to end up in ninth. This was Solomon's first collegiate rings routine as he had been focusing on the floor and pommel horse during the regular season.

The team championship concluded for Navy on the vault. Similar to his first performance of the day on the parallel bars, Petros was locked in and turned in the best vault of his collegiate career with a 14.7 score. He tied Erich Upton of Air Force for the top-seed into Saturday's event finals. Continuing to knock the rust off following a month-long injury rehab, Drake posted a score of 14.15 that ranked him fifth overall. Matthew Rosendahl (Sr., Upperco, Md.) was edged out of the top-10 by just 0.05 points as his 13.85 score was 13th-best in the field.

Navy is slated to have two gymnasts in all six of the event finals on Saturday. First touch for the event finals is set for 3 p.m. ET at Cadet West Gym.

Event Finalists
FX-Buradagunta, Prince
PH-McQuillan, Gurevich
R-Rose, Champagne
VT-Petros, Drake
PB-Petros, Viciana
HB-Mandava, Petros