Men's Gymnastics Eases Past Army, 326.950 to 317.150
Springfield, Mass. -- March 8, 2009 -- Freshman Ty Evans and sophomore Josh Fox finished 1-2 in the All-Around to lead the Springfield College men's gymnastics team to a come-from-behind victory, 326.950 to 317.150, over the U.S. Military Academy this afternoon at SC's Blake Arena.Evans, who hails from San Jose, Calif., scored an 82.450 to easily win the All-Around competition. His closest competitor was Fox, a native of Ellicott City, Md., at 79.200. Tying Fox for second was Army sophomore Ty Smith of Wales, Wisc.
Evans had a great meet, not only winning the All-Around, but also capturing firsts in the vault (15.650, the top individual score of the meet) and in the parallel bars (14.100). Evans also finished second in the high bar (13.650), second in the floor exercise (13.900), and sixth in the rings (13.350).
The Pride also took two other firsts -- by senior Matt Bolognese (Stony Brook, N.Y.) in the still rings (14.400), and by senior co-captain Andy Kelly (Marstons Mills, Mass.) in the floor (13.950).
The Knights laid claim to the other two firsts -- by junior Jonathan Grey (Huntington Beach, Calif.) in the pommel horse (13.100), and by junior Justin Sappington (Hillsboro, Ore.) in the high bar (13.700).
Fox finished third in the vault (15.100), third in the parallel bars (13.700), fifth in the floor exercise (13.450), fifth in the still rings (13.400), and seventh in the high bar (12.700).
It was the third straight time Springfield has beaten Army, once last season, and now twice this season, after having not beaten the Knights in 26 years.
Springfield led after one rotation, but soon found itself trailing by about a point and a half after two rotations, following a poor performance on the pommel horse. That's when Head Coach Steve Posner pulled his troops together for what we'll call a "pep talk". "We were not performing anywhere up to par," said Posner at that point. "If we continued like that, we would have dug ourselves into a hole so far that we couldn't get out."
After the "pep talk", Springfield responded with no sub-par scores for the remainder of the meet. After four rotations, the Pride led by three points, and after five rotations, SC led by more than seven points. The final difference was by a convincing 9.8 points.
Army went 1-2-3 in the pommel horse, also taking 5th and 6th in that apparatus. Finishing 1-2-3 were Grey, Smith, and freshman Tim Tieng (Thorofare, N.J.). Army also went 2-3-4 on the rings. Those included, in order, Smith, Sappington, and senior Kelson Lumpkin (Augusta, Ga.).
Springfield went 1-2-3-4 in the parallel bars. That included Evans, Kelly, Fox, and junior Kyle Bartgis (Nottingham, Md.). The Pride also went 1-2-3 in the vault. That included Evans, junior Keith Stumpf (Williamsville, N.Y.), and Fox.
Final Team Score: Springfield 326.950, Army 317.150
Individual Scores
All-Around
1) Ty Evans, SC 82.450
T2) Josh Fox, SC 79.200
T2) Ty Smith, Army 79.200
Floor Exercise
1) Andy Kelly, SC 13.950
2) Ty Evans, SC 13.900
3) Ty Smith, Army 13.600
4) Justin Sappington, Army 13.500
5) Josh Fox, SC 13.450
6) Matt Tocchio, SC 13.350
Pommel Horse
1) Jon Grey, Army 13.100
2) Ty Smith, Army 13.000
3) Tim Tieng, Army 12.550
4) Matt Tocchio, SC 12.500
5) Justin Sappington, Army 12.450
6) Zack Linton, Army 12.400
Still Rings
1) Matt Bolognese, SC 14.400
2) Ty Smith, Army 13.600
3) Justin Sappington, Army 13.500
4) Kelson Lumpkin, Army 13.450
5) Josh Fox, SC 13.400
6) Ty Evans, SC 13.350
Vault
1) Ty Evans, SC 15.650
2) Keith Stumpf, SC 15.500
3) Josh Fox, SC 15.100
4) Ty Smith, Army 14.900
5) Ken Sloanhoffer, SC 14.800
6) Josh Spencer, SC 14.800
Parallel Bars
1) Ty Evans, SC 14.100
2) Andy Kelly, SC 13.900
3) Josh Fox, SC 13.700
4) Kyle Bartgis, SC 13.400
5) Jon Grey, Army 13.250
6) Tim Tieng, Army 13.150
High Bar
1) Justin Sappington, Army 13.700
2) Ty Evans, SC 13.650
T3) Josh Spencer, SC 13.450
T3) Pat Vaughn, SC 13.450
5) Jon Grey, Army 13.000
6) Kyle Bartgis, SC 12.900
Team Links
- 2010 Schedule
- 2009 Roster
- Photo Gallery
- Summer Camp Information
- 2009 Recruiting Brochure (.pdf)
- Recruit Me!
- Team Archive
Head Coach Steve Posner
Entering his 28th season as head men's gymnastics coach, Dr. Steve Posner is recognized as one of the most outstanding gymnastics coaches in the East. Posner, who has coached 135 All-Americans and 18 National Champions, led the Pride to another successful season in 2009. He has been named the NACGA Eastern Region Coach of the Year in each of the last two years. His latest book, published in 2008 and entitled "Coaching Leadership Handbook -- Instilling Values and Character through Sport," is available on Amazon.com.Read more.