Tribe Gymnastics Ranked Ninth In Latest NCAA Poll

No. 9 Position a School Record

03/04/08 7:00PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - On the strength of its school-record meet score of 348.60 in its home dual meet win over Army last Sunday, the College of William and Mary’s men’s gymnastics squad rocketed from 13th to ninth in the NCAA National Collegiate rankings released this afternoon.

While the Tribe has occasionally appeared at or near the position after the first meet of a season in the past, it is the highest team ranking for the College more than three meets into a year. William and Mary’s team average of 343.800 is more than a half point higher than 10th-place University of Iowa and trails seventh-place University of Minnesota (344.283) by just under a half a point.

The current rankings are based on the average derived from the team’s highest three season scores. The top 12 teams at the end of the season are invited to compete in the NCAA Team Championships field. The formula used to deter-mine this field is slightly revised from the regular season poll: as it is computed by selecting the four highest regular-season scores, counting no more than two home meets. The highest of these scores will be dropped. The Tribe score at the upcoming ECAC Championships meet will be doubled and added to the three remaining regular-season scores. The average of these five scores, which includes the doubled conference score, will be the national qualifying average." (The conference score will count 40% and the regular season scores will count 60%).

Individually, the Tribe senior Andrew Hunt (Upper Black Eddy, Pa.) ranks as one of the nation’s top high bar specialists, as his season average of 14.883 ranks him eighth amongst all collegiate student-athletes. Fellow senior David Locke (Natick, Mass.) is currently ranked 11th on the floor exercise with a season average of 15.250, while junior James Prim (Hendersonville, N.C.) also holds down the No. 11 position on his best event, the rings, with an average of 15.183.

The Tribe will see some of its best competition of the season this weekend, as it travels to face off against second-ranked Penn State University this Saturday afternoon at 2:00 pm.

The following is a look at the current NCAA Collegiate Top 10.

Rank, Team, Average
1, Stanford Univ, 361.433
2, Penn State, 357.783
3, Oklahoma, 357.683
4, California, 355.833
5, Michigan, 355.683
6, Illinois, 352.150
7, Ohio State, 350.717
8, Minnesota, 344.283
9, William & Mary, 343.800
10, Iowa, 342.183