W&M’s Jackson Advances to Individual Finals

Junior Seeks to Become Tribe’s First Multiple Time All-American

04/09/05 5:20PM

WEST POINT, NY - William and Mary standout junior gymnast Ramon Jackson (Orlando, FL) scored an outstanding 9.5 on his specialty event, the parallel bars, in Friday evening’s individual event preliminary round of the NCAA Championships, held on the campus of the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY.

The mark, which was the seventh-best overall at the meet, advances Jackson to Saturday evening’s individual event finals, which will start at approximately 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The top 10 individuals moved on each of the six disciplines, with the top eight scores from Saturday’s action earning the distinction of all-American.

As the returning National Champion on the event, Jackson is shooting to become the first Tribe gymnast to earn a pair of all-American certificates, as he is currently one of only four in the program’s long history to have earned the honor. Before Jackson took the title last season, no William and Mary underclassman had ever earned the accolade.

Last season, Jackson got a fortunate draw and was randomly selected to compete last amongst the 10 person finals field in the event. The draw for 2005 is less than kind, as he is slated to turn in the second performance amongst the field.