Tribe Men’s Gymnastics Captures State Title

Jackson Crowned State All-Around Champion

03/20/05 5:46PM

Harrisonburg, VA - Powered by the standout individual efforts of junior all-arounder Ramon Jacksonk, the College of William and Mary’s 12th-ranked men’s gymnastics squad captured its 31st Virginia State Gymnastics Championship by outscoring hosting James Madison 210.05-196.45 in the 2005 Virginia Collegiate Championships held in Godwin Hall Saturday night.

The win improves the Tribe’s record to 11-9 on the year, but marks the first time in nine meets that the College failed to post a season-high team score. There is no shame, however, since the Tribe’s last team score, an outstanding 214.15, was the squad’s highest in the five seasons since the sport had undergone major rules changes after the 2000 Olympic games. While the team didn’t continue its streak of season-bests, the 210-plus mark certainly puts the program in solid contention to receive its third bid to the NCAA tournament in the past four seasons, as it currently is among the national top 12. With the top 12 teams receiving bids to the NCAAs, it will come down to next weekend’s Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships as to whether the Tribe holds onto the final position. The Tribe will have to maintain the slim advantage it currently holds over fellow ECAC schools Temple and Illinois-Chicago, which are ranked 13th and 14th, nearly a point off the Tribe’s season team average.

Jackson defended his state title in the floor exercise with a 9.20, and added titles in both the vault and the all-around competition, scoring 9.35 and 52.10, respectively.

The next competition for the College will be the ECAC Championships March 25-26 hosted by Springfield College in Springfield, Mass. The team championships will be held on Friday, and are scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.