Gymnastics Set to Host 25th Annual West Point Open

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's gymnastics team will make its home debut this weekend, hosting the 25th Annual West Point Open from Christl Arena on Friday and Saturday.

Action from Christl Arena is slated to get underway at 7 p.m. on both nights with the team finals to take place Friday and the individual finals to follow on Saturday.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets can be purchased at the Holleder Center Box Office. An all-session pass, which admits fans to both Friday and Saturday's action is $25. Individual session passes can be purchased for $15 with a discount for youth and seniors at $10.

HOW TO FOLLOW
As always, fans can visit www.GoArmyWestPoint.com for up-to-date information on the men's gymnastics program. In addition, fans are encouraged to follow the Black Knights on Twitter @ArmyWP_Gym and Instagram @armywpgymnastics for live updates throughout the match and the entirety of the season.

Knight Vision will provide a live broadcast of Friday's action, with Rich Demarco on the call. He will be joined by color commentator Arny Ferrando and Zack Daly.

THE MEET
The Army West Point men's gymnastics team will make its home debut this weekend, welcoming five teams for the 25th Annual West Point Open from Christl Arena. The Black Knights play host to Navy, the New York Alliance, Penn State, Springfield and Temple in the silver anniversary of the event, started by head coach Doug Van Everen in 1992. Army is coming off of a 424.450-403.400 loss at the hands of reigning Big 10 Champion Penn State, while the event will be the first competition of the season for the majority of teams.

The team finals will get action underway on Friday night, with the individual finals will follow on Saturday.

2015 WEST POINT OPEN
The Black Knights took second at last season's West Point Open with a team score of 416.150, led by Jesse Glenn's third consecutive all-around title. The Porter Ranch, Calif., native earned an all-around mark of 84.550 to capture his third title in as many years, qualifying for the individual finals on high bar, vault and floor exercise. Glenn was the top qualifier on high bar, earning a score of 14.850.

Penn State (439.400), claimed its second consecutive team title, followed by Army (416.150) in second and Navy (409.200) in third.

The Black Knights had nine individuals qualify for day two, as Glenn led the way with marks on floor exercise, vault and high bar. Connor Venrick posted two top marks on still rings and pommel horse. Nathan Goff and Leo Genders qualified on high bar while Chris Short earned a qualifying score on parallel bars and Andre Hufnagel on pommel horse.

In the individual finals, Army captured six top-five finishes, led by two top marks from both Genders and Glenn. Genders earned a pair of fourth place nods on floor exercise (14.500) and high bar (13.350), while Glenn captured fifth on both floor exercise (14.400) and vault (14.400), electing to sit out of the high bar competition despite being the top qualifier. Venrick earned third on pommel horse (14.450) and fifth on still rings (14.150), while Short placed eighth on parallel bars (13.000), Hufnagel captured eighth on pommel horse (10.300) and Seth Cannon placed seventh on floor exercise (14.150).

ARMY'S LAST TIME OUT
Army is coming off of a 424.450-403.400 loss at the hands of the reigning Big 10 Champion Nittany Lions of Penn State. Despite the loss, Army earned the victory on high bar, led by a first place finish from Jesse Glenn, who became the first Army gymnast to win an event over Penn State since 2014. Glenn's score of 14.900 led Army to a team total of 70.200, the seventh best performance in program history.

On the afternoon, Army posted eight top-five finishes, led by Glenn, who, in addition to the high bar title, claimed four top marks. The Porter Ranch, Calif., native placed third on pommel horse (14.100), third on parallel bars (13.900), fifth on floor exercise (14.200) and tied for fifth on vault (14.400).

Leo Genders earned a career best mark of 14.650 on high bar to capture third and was joined by yearling Nathan Goff on the podium who placed fourth with a score of 14.300

Ryan Wilson also earned a new career best score, placing fourth on vault with a mark of 14.500.

SERIES HISTORY WITH NAVY
Army has squared off with the Midshipmen in 85 dual meets, holding the advantage 48-35-2. The Black Knights bested Navy a total of four times last season, earning the Star meet win in addition to edging the Midshipmen at the West Point Open, the All-Academy Championships and the ECAC Championships. Head coach Doug Van Everen is 15-15-0 against the Midshipmen in dual meets in his tenure with Army.

SERIES HISTORY WITH PENN STATE
Penn State dominates the series history with Army, owning the 43-18-1 advantage in the teams' 62 dual meetings. The Nittany Lions have rattled off 33 straight victories since 1963, including the 424.450-403.400 win to open the 2016 season. Head coach Doug Van Everen has yet to claim a win over the perennial powerhouse, competing to a mark of 0-20-0.

SERIES HISTORY WITH SPRINGFIELD
In a series that dates back to 1931, Army has showed authority over Springfield, boasting a mark of 64-17-0 over its ECAC foe. Currently, the Black Knights are riding an eight-meet win streak over the Pride, earning a pair of victories in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. Head coach Doug Van Everen has led his squads to a record of 32-6-0 over Springfield in his 26 seasons with the Black Knights.

SERIES HISTORY WITH TEMPLE
While the Black Knights have not met Temple in a dual meet since 2014, the series with the Owls dates back to 1926 with Temple holding the 53-36-0 all-time advantage. Army earned the last two dual victories over the Owls, claiming a pair of wins in 2014. Head coach Doug Van Everen's record against the Owls stands a 5-23-0.

ARMY WHO TO WATCH: JESSE GLENN
One of Army's most successful gymnasts, Jesse Glenn will take part in his final collegiate season this year. The team's top all-arounder, Glenn has been dominant in his three seasons with the Black Knights, competing on a national level in addition to his time at the Academy. Stellar at the West Point Open, Glenn has captured the last three all-around titles.

The Porter Ranch, Calif., native is the Academy record holder in all-around and high bar and dominates the school record book, accounting for 38 percent of the modern era records. He holds the team's top nine spots in all-around, and top 15 spots on high bar, checking in in the top-20 in six of seven event categories.

A six-time ECAC individual champion, Glenn has been crowned the all-around champion each of the past two seasons at the conference meet, also grabbing the previous two high bar titles, as well as vault and parallel bar crowns in 2015. In addition, he is a five-time USA Gymnastics All-American.

One of the most dominant athletes at West Point, he has garnered Army Athletic Association Athlete of the Week recognition seven times in his three seasons and has earned three "Major A" letters.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Army remains 12th in the latest College Gymnastics Association (CGA) Coaches Poll. Receiving 120 points, the Black Knights pace the ECAC.

Oklahoma leads the way with 258 points, receiving 11 first place votes. The reigning national champions are followed by Ohio State, Stanford, Illinois and Michigan to round out the top five. In the six spot sits Penn State, followed by California, Minnesota, Iowa and Air Force in the top 10. Service academy rival Navy sits one spot below Army at No. 13.

The Black Knights have already met with Penn State, but will square off with four of the nation's top-15 teams in California (March 11 & March 13), Air Force (Jan. 29), Navy (Feb. 6) and William & Mary (Feb. 27).

RETURNING DEPTH
The Black Knights return nearly every member of the 2015 squad, losing just one consistent member of the starting lineups. Army loses depth on pommel horse and still rings with the graduation of Connor Venrick, but returns 12 members of the 2015 team.

In total, the 2016 roster accounts for 52 percent of the modern era record book, with three Academy record-holders, seven ECAC Champions, five USAG All-Americans and three ECAC Rookies of the Year.

MEET YOUR CAPTAINS
Sharing captain duties for the 2016 season will be Chris Short and Leo Genders.

Short enters his senior season with the Black Knights with some all-around experience, focusing primarily on parallel bars. He posted 27 top-10 finishes in 2015, including eight top-five nods. He is the Academy record holder on parallel bars, recording a score of 14.850 in the team's win at William & Mary on March 14, 2015. A three-year letterwinner, he is a two-time NCAA qualifier.

Genders will represent the junior class in the team's first year with co-captains. The Lancaster, Ohio native competes on floor exercise, vault and high bar and captured top-10 finishes in 20 of his 21 events, including nine top-five nods. A two-year letterman, he set career-highs on floor exercise (14.550) and high bar (14.600) during the 2015 season.

VAN EVEREN WELCOMES CLASS OF 2019
Head coach Doug Van Everen added six members to the team with the Class of 2019 joining the squad this summer. The newest additions hail from five states, representing California, Florida, Massachusetts, Texas and Virginia.

Dallas native Cole Casanova highlights the group, joining Van Everen after spending his amateur career at WOGA under coach Sergei Pakanich. Casanova finished second in the all-around competition at the Region III Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., in April, taking the individual titles on still rings and vault. A P&G Championships qualifier, he was a top-20 finisher at Junior Nationals and was a four-time Academic All-American.

Colton Bradley, a native of Burlington, Mass., enters the Academy after a career at Gymnastics & More under coach Mitkko Lountchev. At the 2015 Junior Nationals, he finished sixth on parallel bars, sixth on high bar and eighth on still rings to cap off an 11th-place all-around finish. A graduate of Belmont High School, Bradley was a member of the Honor Roll.

Apollo Gymnastics teammates James Gamarra and Elijah-Ty Phelps will continue their bond as they enter the Class of 2019 together. Gamarra placed sixth on pommel horse at the 2015 Junior Nationals and was the top finisher on the Virginia State Team. Phelps took third on high bar at Junior Nationals and was a member of the state championship team. In addition, Phelps was an Academic-All American and Honor Roll member.

Traveling the farthest distance to join the Army squad, Elliott Herman hails from Los Gatos, Calif., and was a former member of the California Sports Center under coach Scott Burns. A state champion and member of the regional select and regional teams, Herman finished in the top-20 at the 2015 Junior Nationals. In addition, he was ranked fifth in the nation on high bar and earned Academic All-American honors.

Brandon Shively rounds out the newest additions to the team, hailing from Tampa, Fla. Formerly competing at LaFleur's Tampa under coach Billy West, he was a finalist on pommel horse at Junior Nationals after earning a state title on pommel horse and parallel bars. A graduate of Tampa Catholic High School, he earned Academic All-America honors each of his four years and was a member of the Principal's Honor Roll.

2015 RECAP
The 2015 season was one of the most successful in program history, as the Black Knights earned their 13th ECAC title, snapping a 10-year drought. Army bested the field of six in the conference meet with a season-high team score of 422.050, setting season-best marks on pommel horse (71.900), still rings (69.700), parallel bars (70.700) and high bar (70.750). The team scores on both pommel horse and parallel bars broke the previous Academy records as the team earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships.

The Black Knights competed to a record of 5-3, earning an unblemished mark against ECAC foes. In addition, Army earned a Star meet win over service academy rival Navy, besting the Midshipmen a total of four times on the season.

Individually, Glenn again paced the team on the season, concluding the year as a four-time ECAC Champion, earning his second consecutive all-around title, in addition to earning the top spot on vault, parallel bars and high bar to bring his career total to six ECAC titles. Glenn advanced to the individual finals at the NCAA Championships, representing the Black Knights on high bar and capturing ninth in the three-day event.

In total, the Black Knights earned 31 individual titles, led by Glenn's 18. Sam Kusnitz contributed five, while newly commissioned 2Lt. Connor Venrick added three and Short contributed two. Leo Genders, Nathan Goff and Joe Pritts each captured one title on the season.

THE CLASS OF 2016
As the season gets underway, the Black Knights will celebrate the careers of the trio of cadet-athletes representing the Class of 2016. Jesse Glenn, Chris Short and Mike York will be taking part in their final season as a member of the team.

The Class of 2016 has contributed one ECAC title, 12 dual meet victories, two Star meet wins, 11 total victories over Navy, three individual Academy records, eight "Major A" letterwinners, seven Army Athletic Association Athletes of the Week, six individual ECAC Champions, five USAG All-Americans, two ECAC Rookies of the Week, two CGA College Division National Gymnasts of the Week and three West Point Open individual champions. In addition, the 2016 squad accounts for 42 percent of the modern era record book.

CLASS RINGS
The Class of 2016 received their class rings in a ceremony held at Trophy Point on Aug. 28, 2015. A time-honored West Point tradition, the Class of 2016's rings contain gold from 356 West Point graduates donated to the West Point Association of Graduates in addition to steel melted down from the World Trade Center.

BRANCH NIGHT
Members of the Army West Point gymnastics Class of 2016 received their branch assignments in a ceremony held at Eisenhower Hall on Nov. 19. Jesse Glenn will branch finance with an armor detail, co-captain Chris Short will branch field artillery and Mike York will branch infantry.

The Class of 2016 will learn their first duty station on Jan. 28.

UP NEXT
Army will return to Lou Gross Sports Center on Jan. 29 for a dual meet with service academy rival Air Force. Action against the Falcons is slated to get underway at 6 p.m. The Black Knights will continue the service academy action as they travel to Navy on Feb. 6 before taking to the All-Academy Championships in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 13.

Gymnastics Set to Host 25th Annual West Point Open

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Players Mentioned

Colton Bradley

Seth Cannon

Cole Casanova

James Gamarra

Leo Genders

Jesse Glenn

Nathan Goff

Elliott Herman

Andre Hufnagel

Sam Kusnitz

Elijah-Ty Phelps

Joe Pritts

Brandon Shively

Chris Short

Connor Venrick

Ryan Wilson

Army West Point Athletics