ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The No. 8 Navy gymnastics team closed out its regular season with a gutsy come-from-behind victory at home versus No. 11 Greenville on Friday afternoon. Separated by just 2.4 points in the national leaderboard coming into the day, the Mids (6-1, 5-0 ECAC) ran into a game Panther (4-7, 3-1 ECAC) squad that pushed the hosts to their limit at the Halsey Field House Gymnastics Facility. After leading through the first four rotations by a slim 0.4-point margin, Navy dropped 2.3 points to Greenville on the parallel bars to set the scene for a dramatic turn on the high bar that saw the Mids swing the final decision back in their favor by 0.6 points, 312.50-311.90.

Competing in his final home regular season meet, Isaiah Drake (Sr., Los Angeles, Calif.) was a standout for the Mids with first place results on all three events in which he posted scores, the rings, vault and high bar. He dominated the rings with a 0.75-point margin of victory and was strong on the high bar with a 0.6-point differential. The vault rotation was hotly-contested as he edged the field by 0.15 points. Additional flag-bearers for Navy on Friday were Benjamin Thurlow Lam (So., San Francisco, Calif.) on the floor exercise and Saran Alexander (Fr., Tavares, Fla.) on the pommel horse.

As a team, Navy scored 51.75 points on the floor exercise, 51.5 on the pommel horse, 52.7 on the rings, 54.75 on the vault, 49.7 on the parallel bars and 52.1 on the high bar. The Mids' rings performance resulted in a season-best score.

"What a gritty performance this afternoon at Halsey Field House," remarked head coach Kip Simons. "We needed all 24 guys on the team to step up and get past our conference rival Greenville. Greenville is a very well-coached team and we knew that they were going to take us all the way to the end; every routine was pivotal. Our guys really stepped up on the high bar to close out the victory. I'm so happy for our seniors that we were able to bring home a W for them on Senior Day."

The competition on begin on Friday with a 51.75-51.75 deadlock in the floor exercise as the teams exchanged spots through the top-six of the individual leaderboard. Thurlow Lam earned top honors with a 13.55 score via an 8.95 execution and a 4.6-level of difficulty. He edged Brayden Erickson by 0.15 points. William Champagne (Sr., Douglas, Mass.) finished 0.05 points behind Erickson with a career-best 13.35 to grab third place, while Brian Solomon (So., Lynnfield, Mass.) took advantage of a 0.1-point stick bonus to tally a 13.15 score and rank fifth overall.

The Mids pulled ahead by 0.1 points on the next event, the pommel horse. A standout effort by Alexander earned a first-place result on Friday as he performed his 4.7-level routine with 8.75 execution for a 13.45 score. He narrowly held off the Panthers' Andres Esquivel-Garza, who posted a 13.4. Jonah Soltz (Fr., Tacoma, Wash.) provided strong support with a career-high 13.2 score to place third. Part of a crowded leaderboard, Daniel Gurevich (So., Frisco, Texas) was squeezed down to sixth place with a 12.5 mark.

Navy added a bit of space between itself and Greenville with a 0.95-point advantage on the rings. A long-time stalwart for the Mids, Drake set a new career-high on the rings with a score of 14.05. Performing the most difficult routine of the eight athletes on the rings on Friday with a 4.6-level of difficulty, Drake crushed his execution with 9.3 quality and added to his grand total with a 0.1 stick bonus. He surpassed second-place Elijah Cruz of Greenville by 0.75 points. Aaron Stein (Jr., Houston, Texas) placed third overall with a score of 13.25, while the duo of Alexander and Solomon tied for sixth with matching 12.7 outputs.

Drake's winning ways continued on the vault, though the Panthers were able to shave 0.65 points off their deficit with four gymnasts in the top-six to tighten the running tally to 210.7-210.3. Drake finished atop the standings with a 14.1 score via 4.8 points for difficulty and 9.3 for execution. A stick bonus for Greenville's Michael Avery helped him challenge Drake with a score of 13.95. Solomon broke up the bastion of Panthers in positions two through six with a 13.85 score to place fourth overall.

Greenville's comeback attempt came to fruition on the ensuing event, the parallel bars, as the visitors out-scored Navy by 2.5 points, 52.0-49.7. After a pair of Panther gymnasts tied for first in the standings, Champagne posted a third-place score of 13.0. Vishal Mandava (Sr., Cypress, Texas) gave the Mids two gymnasts in the top-five with a 12.85 result on Friday afternoon. Competing in his final regular season competition, Sabastian Gordon (Sr., Old Tappan, N.J.) netted Navy 12.0 points for his p-bar effort.

Now trailing by 1.9 points, 262.3-260.4, the final outcome of the meet came down to the Mids' high bar lineup. Consisting of three seniors and a freshman, Mandava, the team captain, led off with a 12.85 result before Riley Rose (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev.) followed him up with a 12.75 mark. Those scores ranked third and fifth, respectively. Seeing an opening for victory, newcomer Boone Washburn (Fr., Lake Oswego, Ore.) turned in a career-best 12.95 score, that finished runner-up to Drake's anchor performance. With the victory lying in the balance, Drake left nothing up for debate as he nailed his 4.5-level routine with 8.95-point accuracy and stuck the landing for an overall score of 13.55, a season-high result. Drake's score when compared to Greenville's event anchor, Donovan Diviney (12.8 points) gave Navy the slim 0.6-point victory.
 
Navy will take a brief break from competition as it looks to put the final touches on its postseason preparation. Next up for the Mids is action at the 2025 USAG Collegiate Championship on the weekend of March 28-29. Navy is the host institution for the two-day event as all of the action will take place at Halsey Field House. First touch of the team event is set for 2 p.m. on Friday, March 28.