Williamsburg, Va. (Feb. 12, 2011) - The 17th-ranked William and Mary men's gymnastics squad kicked off its home schedule on Saturday afternoon with a solid 331.3-point team effort at the State Open in Kaplan Arena.
The score showed a full 15-point improvement from its season high (315.1) established in its season-opening event (at Navy).
The Tribe was the only Division I program in the competition, as the remainder of the field was comprised of club teams from campus across the state.
Talented freshman Landon Funiciello (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) claimed a share of three event titles on the afternoon, highlighted by a powerful ring set that earned a score of 14.3. His ring mark currently is the Tribe's second-best mark since the major rules changes in the sport (prior to the 2008 season). Funiciello's vault mark of 15.4 also claimed top honors on the afternoon and places him third on the team's all-time performance listings. Funiciello tied with sophomore Vince Smurro (Manalapan, N.J.) for the best floor performance, with a career best 14.0.
Not to be out-done by his classmate, fellow frosh Daniel Potemski (Round Rock, Texas) was a half-point better than the rest of the field in capturing the parallel bar event on the afternoon with a career-best mark of 14.2. He also finished a solid second on the vault, posting a mark of 15.3, just a .01 point behind Funiciello for the gold position.
Sophomore Kris Yeager (Lake Oswego, Ore.) claimed the pommel horse with a personal season best mark of 13.4, while senior team co-captain Andy Hunter (Tallahassee, Fla.) was the meet's top performer on the high bar with a mark of 13.8.
The Tribe's next competition will come next Saturday, when it travels to Philadelphia to compete in the Temple Open. The event, which will also feature the United States Military Academy, will start at 7:30.
