COLORADO SPRINGS,
Colo. (March 30, 2012) - The William and Mary men's gymnastics team earned
its best score of the season and placed second at the USAG Collegiate
Championships hosted by Air Force on Friday evening.
Air Force claimed the varsity division team
title with a 341.05, while the Tribe posted a 331.85 to earn runner up honors.
Navy placed third with a 326.9, and Springfield was fourth with a 324.35.
Arizona State claimed the collegiate
division title with a 328.6 and was followed by Brockport (289.9) and
Washington (287.45).
Freshman J.J. Jindra, sophomore Daniel Potemski and junior Futa Ikeda highlighted the College's individual
performances and earned All-America honors in all-around. Jindra placed second
with an 82.2, while Potemski (81.6) and Ikeda (79.25) finished fourth and
fifth, respectively.
W&M opened the meet on floor and registered a
season-high 56.6. Potemski led the Tribe by tying for third with a 14.4 - a
figure that matched his best score of the season. Junior Matt Burns also
qualified for Saturday's individual floor final by placing fifth with a
career-high 14.35, while freshman Michael Deitz contributed to the impressive
team total with a career-best 14.0.
The Tribe then moved to pommel horse and recorded a 54.0.
Potemski and senior Steve Deutsch both qualified for the individual event finals
with a 13.85 and a 13.6, respectively. Potemski's mark tied for the third-best
score of the evening in the event.
In the third rotation of the competition, W&M matched
its season high on rings with a 56.7. Deutsch posted a career-high 14.4 to
place sixth, while Ikeda tallied a career-best 14.2 to also advance to the event
final on Saturday.
Potemski tied for second on vault with a 14.5 to help the
College post a 55.35. Senior Dan Melzar also came up big in the event and
earned a 13.7.
Junior Kris Yeager and Ikeda both finished among the top
five on parallel bars with a 14.05 and a 13.85, respectively. Yeager's mark
represented a season high and helped the squad tally a 55.25.
W&M finished the meet on high bar and was led by Jindra's
career-best 13.85. En route to qualifying for the event final, Jindra helped
the team post a 53.95.
The USAG Collegiate Championship individual event finals
will get underway on Saturday at 5 p.m. (MST).
