Atlanta, Ga. - February 13, 2016 - Posting a season-high score of 409.15 points, the Springfield College men's gymnastics program cruised to a second-place finish at the Peachtree Invitational hosted by Georgia State - Atlanta on Saturday evening.
William and Mary finished first overall with a score of 409.60, just .45 points ahead of the Pride, while the University of Illinois - Chicago finished third with 399.00 points.
Springfield received impressive performances from sophomore Chris Graff (Old Bridge, N.J.), as well as senior captain Jon Zirna (East Amherst, N.Y.), as Graff posted team-best scores on the pommel horse with a season-high 14.700, good for first overall, and the rings with a 13.600, while Zirna led the Pride with a career-best 14.800 on his floor routine, as well as coming in first overall in the all-around competition, posting a score of 81.750.
Zirna placed second overall with his floor routine, while Graff took second on the pommel horse. Additionally, the Pride saw an impressive performance from Philip Ordonez (Jacksonville, Fla.), who recorded a career-best score of 78.000 in the all-around competition, including a personal-best mark of 14.200 on the floor.
Following Ordonez and Zirna posting career-highs on the floor, freshman Joe Medina (Beaver Dams, N.Y.) and senior Conor Galvin (Baiting Hollow, N.Y.) also recorded personal-best scores in the rotation, as Medina notched a 14.100 and Galvin a 14.000.
Sophomore Mike Grimaldi (Middletown, N.J.) had a standout day for Springfield as well, recording a pair of career performances in the parallel bars, when he posted a winning score of 14.350, before hitting another personal best on the high bar, scoring a 13.350.
Springfield also had three student-athletes reach career marks on the pommel horse, as Joshua Dieker (Oviedo, Fla.) recorded a 13.400, Jannik Haas (San Jose, Calif.) notched a 13.300 and senior Derek Taranto (Westborough, Mass.) produced a 14.200 in the event. Haas also won the high bar with a score of 13.700.
Junior Ryan Kearns (McHenry, Illi.) registered a season-high 12.600 on rings, while Medina, Haas and Dieker all posted personal-best scores on the vault, Dieker leading with a 14.150, followed by Haas with a 13.750 and Medina with a 13.650. Additionally, senior Tim Lebbossiere (Braintree, Mass.) had a season-best 13.650 on the vault. Despite the four impressive performances, senior Tucker McClure's (San Jose, Calif.) score of 14.200 won the event.
Up next, Springfield will prepare for a three-team meet featuring Army and William & Mary on Saturday, February 27 beginning at 1 p.m.
