Springfield, Mass. - April 1, 2023 - The Springfield College men's gymnastics team produced another special performance at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Men's Gymnastics Championships on Saturday, scoring a 386.850 at Navy.
With today's result, it marks just the third time in the last 40-plus years that Springfield has finished as the runner-up at the ECAC Championships, and first time that it has done it in back-to-back seasons. Navy repeated as ECAC Champions with a 395.650, followed by the Pride's mark of 386.050, William & Mary (384.250), Army (377.650), Greenville (377.250), and Simpson (346.850)
Highlighting the day were a pair of awards that were presented to the program, as Dominic Ramalho (Hollis, N.H.) was selected as the ECAC Men's Gymnast of the Year, while assistant coaches Norm Boulerice, Christian Wilkey Jr., and Victoria Gendreau were tabbed the ECAC Men's Gymnastics Assistant Coaching Staff of the Year. Ramalho once again led the way for the Pride as he finished second in the all-around competition with a 77.250, while teammate Sam Kaplan (Fairhaven, Mass.) took third with a 76.450.
Owen Carney (Sterling, Mass.) had Springfield's top performance on an apparatus as he took second on the horizontal bar with a 13.250. Kaplan added a 12.550 to finish in the top ten, while Jaden Laubstein (Oakland, Calif.) turned in a 12.350.
A week removed from winning the USAG College National Championship on the floor exercise, Jakarie Williams (Stockbridge, Mass.) scored a 13.400 on the floor to finish in fourth, while Ramalho was fifth in 13.350, and Carney took eighth with his 13.150.
Laubstein paced the Pride on the pommel horse with an eighth-place mark of 12.700, while Juan Gomez (Tallahassee, Fla.) and Kaplan registered marks of 12.200. USAG College National Champion David Handron (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was the Pride's top finisher on the rings with a third-place score of 13.400, Ramalho scored a 13.050, and Dylan Colangelo (Youngstown, Ohio) produced a 12.400.
Springfield's top score of the day came on the vault as the Pride posted a 69.450. Andrae Butler (Taunton, Mass.) hit for a 14.100 en route to fourth place, Ramalho earned a 14.050 for sixth, and Carney tallied a 13.900. The Pride was impressive on parallel bars, recording four of the top ten scores on the day, with Ramalho taking third in 13.600, Kaplan delivered a 13.550 for fourth, Carter Cochardo (Cicero, N.Y.) scored a 13.400, and Tyler Beekman (Bedford, N.H.) chipped in a 13.100
Springfield will now await to find out its postseason fate and if it has qualified for the NCAA National Collegiate Championships on March 14-15 at Penn State University.
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