ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy gymnastics team began the home portion of its 2025 schedule on Saturday afternoon with action at the Navy Open. Competing as one of six teams in a mixed field of collegiate and club programs, the Mids recorded a third-place score of 303.15.

The entire leaderboard for Saturday saw William & Mary edge Springfield by 0.85 points, 306.15 to 305.30 with Navy right behind in third. On the club-side of the standings, Temple placed fourth overall with 278.30 points, while the Florida Storm and North Carolina Airman had incomplete lineups for the 4-up, 4-count event and posted respective scores of 189.80 and 177.60.

As a team, Navy scored 52.85 points on the floor exercise, 44.9 on the pommel horse, 48.7 on the rings, 54.75 on the vault, 50.95 on the parallel bars and 51.0 on the high bar.

Individually, Brian Solomon (So., Lynnfield, Mass.) paced the Mids' effort as he finished first among floor exercise and all-around competitors and was just 0.05 points shy of both the vault and rings' titles. Benjamin Thurlow Lam (So., San Francisco, Calif.) and William Champagne (Sr., Douglas, Mass.) also turned in second-place results on the floor and parallel bars, respectively.

Starting on the floor exercise, Navy posted the best team score on the strength of the top three individual performances. Solomon won the event with a score of 14.0 with Thurlow Lam finishing runner-up at 13.65. Isaiah Drake (Sr., Los Angeles, Calif.) rounded out the top-three with a 13.55 score.

The Mids struggled on the pommel horse with an up-and-down showing from their four-man lineup as they gave up 2.4 points to William & Mary and 4.6 to Springfield. Freshman Saran Alexander (Tavares, Fla.) turned a 12.25-point routine in his home collegiate debut to tie for fourth place. Daniel Gurevich (So., Frisco, Texas) gave Navy its second gymnast in the top-six with a score of 11.95 on Saturday.

Navy's rings rotation also had a similar outcome with two gymnasts placing among the top-seven. Solomon and Alexander led the Mids' effort as Solomon nearly won his second event of the meet as he fell just 0.05 points short of Springfield's William Wilson and William & Mary's Gavin Zborowski's matching first place scores of 13.05 as Solomon posted a 13.0. Alexander registered in his second straight solid routine with a 12.35 that ranked seventh overall.

Navy's fortunes turned in the second half of the meet as the Mids looked to climb back up the standings. The duo of Solomon and Matthew Petros (Jr., Broadview Heights, Ohio) challenged the top of the leaderboard with respective scores of 13.95 and 13.9, that placed them just behind William & Mary's Connor Barrow's first place 14.0 score.

Navy kept up its momentum on the following apparatus, the parallel bars, with a mirror image outcome of second and third-place individual scores. Champagne recorded the Mids' best mark on the p-bars with a 13.30 ahead of Drake's 13.05. Solomon placed just outside the top-five as he finished sixth with a 12.8 effort.

Navy finished strong with the best combined team score on the high bar, but unfortunately for the hosts it wouldn't be enough to complete the comeback. Petros paced the Mids on the high bar with a third-place score of 13.15. Team captain Vishal Mandava (Sr., Cypress, Texas) netted a fifth-place result courtesy of his 12.9. Riley Rose (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev.) was just 0.1 points back of his classmate at 12.8 to claim seventh place.

In the all-around competition, Solomon placed first with 77.15 combined points with 14.0 from the floor, 10.7 from the pommel horse, 13.0 from the rings, 13.95 from the vault, 12.8 from the parallel bars and 12.7 from the high bar.

Navy will begin the head-to-head portion of its schedule next with a road matchup at Simpson College on Friday, Jan. 24. First touch is set for 6 p.m. in Indianola, Iowa.