CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 9 Navy gymnastics team kicked off the second half of its regular season schedule with a season-best score at the University of Illinois on Saturday afternoon. Taking on No. 7 Illinois and No. 10 Greenville University in a three-team meet at the Illini's Huff Hall, the Mids were solid throughout and posted a 310.30-point score, but unfortunately placed third behind the Illini's 319.35 and the Panthers' 310.85.

Matthew Petros (Sr., Broadview Heights, Ohio) led a host of strong individual performances as seven different Mids turned in seven top-three results at the meet. Petros highlighted those outcomes with a career-high score of 13.75 to win the high bar competition. Additionally, Benjamin Thurlow Lam (Jr., San Francisco, Calif.), Kody Tokunaga (Fr., Palatine, Ill.), Jonah Soltz (So., Tacoma, Wash.) and Sean Armstrong (Fr., Coppell, Texas) all turned in runner-up efforts on the floor exercise, pommel horse, vault and high bar, respectively.

As a team, Navy scored 53.1 points on the floor exercise, 52.2 on the pommel horse, 47.55 on the rings, 53.0 on the vault, 51.05 on the parallel bars and 53.4 on the high bar. The Mids' high bar lineup smashed its previous season-best score of 51.05 set at the Navy Open, while their parallel bars lineup was nearly as proficient with a 1.65-point improvement of its 49.4 outing at the All-Academy Championship.

The first half of Saturday's competition had up-and-down results as the Mids' floor exercise and pommel horse rosters each had two top-five finishers, while their rings' team was shut out of the top five. Thurlow Lam led the floor exercise crew with a score of 14.1 that came in runner-up to Illinois' Garrett Schooley's 14.3. Danilo Viciana (Sr., Marietta, Ga.) was 0.4 points back with a 13.7 result that ranked fifth overall in the field of 12. Both Thurlow Lam and Viciana's efforts were new career-highs.

On the ensuing event, the pommel horse, Tokunaga continued the run of personal bests as he posted a 13.4 score to finish second behind Illinois' U.S. National Team member and pommel horse specialist Brandon Dang. Daniel Gurevich (Jr., Frisco, Texas) ranked right behind Tokunaga in third place courtesy of his 13.2 effort.

The Mids struggled mightily on the rings on Saturday as Aaron Stein (Sr., Houston, Texas) was the highest finishing Navy gymnast on the apparatus with a score of 12.65 that was good for seventh place. Zachary Silao (Fr., Lutherville, Md.) was the Navy's second-highest scoring rings technician and he tied for tenth with a 12.2 result.

The second half of the competition was highlighted by the Mids' trio of high achievers on the high bar. Petros turned in a career-best routine that netted him 13.75 points and the event victory. In just his second collegiate event, Armstrong followed his teammate on the individual leaderboard with a 13.65 score that edged out fellow Mid Boone Washburn (So., Lake Oswego, Ore.) by 0.15 points as Washburn earned 13.5 points for his efforts.

Petros earned his second top-five finish of the competition on the vault with a score of 13.9 that placed him fifth. Soltz was Navy's standout on the apparatus on Saturday as he hit his vault and earned a career-best 14.1 points to trail just Preston Ngai of Illinois in the standings; Ngai posted a 14.35 score for his vault.

While combining for a strong collaborative score, Viciana was the lone Midshipman to finish in the top five on the parallel bars as he came in fifth with a season-high score of 13.05. In a crowded leaderboard, Soltz was just 0.15 points back with a 12.9 that ranked him eighth overall.

Navy will continue the second half of its regular season schedule with another tri-meet next Saturday, March 7 as the Mids will travel to Williamsburg, Virginia for action against William & Mary and Simpson College. First touch is set for 2 p.m. at Kaplan Arena.