Late Heroics Scores Tribe Men’s Gymnastics Upset over No. 14 Springfield College

W&M Scores Five Personal Bests on Last Event to Spur Victory

03/14/10 8:34PM

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The College of William and Mary’s 16th-ranked men’s gymnastics team entered the last event of Sunday afternoon’s tri-meet at No. 14 Springfield College holding a slight lead on the hosting Pride. Needing a strong finish, the Tribe received five-straight personal best efforts on the parallel bars to record the upset of Springfield.

The Tribe finished with a team-season best score of 337.80, which edged out Springfield (336.60) for second place overall at the event. Number 12 Air Force captured the team title with a score of 342.95. The effort moves the Tribe’s record to 7-3 on the year.

Individually, the Tribe scored two event titles on the afternoon, as senior Josh Fried (Gwynedd Valley, Pa.) took top honors on the floor exercise with a personal-best score of 14.70. Senior all-arounder Derek Gygax (Stevensville, Md.) posted the meet’s best effort on the high bars, flowing to a season best mark of 14.30. Overall, Gygax was his usual solid-self, as he counted towards the team’s score in all six-events for the fourth-consecutive meet. He also posted a third-place overall finishes in the all-around and on the pommel horse, with a team-season best scores of 84.00 and 14.2, respectively.

Gygax also led the charge on the team’s amazing performance on the parallel bars, his mark of 14.5 was both a personal, and team-season best. His score was the pinnacle performance, as Andy Hunter (Tallahassee, Fla.), 14.45, Alex Egerter (Sacramento, Calif.), 14.20, and Vince Smurro (Manalapan, N.J.), 14.0 all also set personal bests on the event. In fact, all four scores placed inside the team’s all-time top 10 for the event (under the new scoring system, which was instituted before the beginning of last season).

Smurro, a freshman also cracked the team’s all-time Top 10 in the high bar event, where he scored a personal-best 13.85, which placed him sixth overall at the event.

Fellow freshman Futa Ikeda (Sandy, Utah) finished just behind Gygax on the pommel horse, recording a score of 14.00 (which ties him for fifth in the Tribe’s all-time listing).

Junior Dave Ellis (Braintree, Mass.) had a career-best performance on the rings, as he finished third overall with a team-season best mark of 14.25. Sophomore Stephen Deutsch (Glenview, Ill.) finished close on his heels, placing fourth with a mark of 14.15. Both scores cracked the team’s all-time top 10, as Ellis’ placed him third and Deutsch currently is in fifth.

The squad’s next action will come this Friday evening, with a home meet against Army starting at 7pm in Kaplan Arena. The team will then host Temple University on Sunday afternoon for a 2pm start.