2024 ECAC Men’s Gymnastics Championships Preview: Navy’s quest for a sixth straight title won’t be easy

The ECAC has surpassed all expectations this season, with the six teams breaking records left and right. It all comes to a head this weekend at the 2024 ECAC Men’s Gymnastics Championships.

Navy has won the ECAC title five times in a row, but things could get interesting this go around. 

While Navy is coming into this meet ranked No. 1 in the ECAC, Springfield has notched the highest team score this season, and both Greenville and Army have shown themselves capable of outscoring the Midshipmen.

If these four teams hit like they are capable of, it could come down to just tenths of a point to determine the 2024 conference champion. 

We also can’t count out William & Mary. While they haven’t surpassed the 390 mark that it will likely take to win, they certainly have that potential, and with some mistakes from the top teams, they could sneak in a top 3 finish.

Second year program Simpson may not be in the running for the team title just yet, but they have some talented athletes who will definitely be challenging for some top finishes on the individual events.

How to watch the 2024 ECAC Men’s Gymnastics Championships

The team, all-around, and event champions will all be determined on Saturday, April 6 at 1 p.m. ET. The meet will be streamed live on Virtius.

Starting Rotation Order

• FX: Greenville
• PH: Navy
• SR: Army
• VT: Simpson
• PB: Springfield
• HB: William & Mary

Individual event contenders

Note: Scores shown are four-score average.

Floor Exercise

Floor will be a tight race. A few steps on landings will make all the difference, but these four athletes all have season highs in the 14s. Connelly is No. 1 in the ECAC but needs to hit a clean set if he wants to take the title.

• Zach Connelly (Greenville) – 14.050
• Syam Buradagunta (Navy) – 13.967
• Evan Reichert (Springfield) – 13.417
• Garrett Kasiski (William & Mary) – 13.317

Pommel Horse

Freshman phenom Peyton Cramer is the favorite to take the title on this event, with a handful of event titles and a season high of 14.700. However, a slight mistake from Cramer could allow for a couple of other athletes to surpass him, something Maddox Pabellon and Ronan McQuillan have already taken advantage of this season.

• Peyton Cramer (Springfield) – 14.367
• Ronan McQuillan (Navy) – 13.817
• Maddox Pabellon (Army) – 13.783
• Landon Benas (Greenville) – 13.567

Still Rings

It’s difficult to predict who will finish at the top on rings, with so many athletes notching a four-score average in the low-to-mid 13s. Simpson’s Brian Rollison is coming in ranked No. 1 and has the highest score in the conference this season, but he will need to repeat those performances if he wants to land on top the podium.

• Brian Rollison (Simpson) – 13.400
• Will Wilson (Springfield) – 13.333
• Isaiah Drake (Navy) – 13.317
• Niko Greenly (William & Mary) – 13.233

Vault

If this year’s freshmen talent is any indication, the future of the ECAC is bright. Take Greenville’s Logan Watterson, who is ranked No. 4 in the nation for his sky-high Kas 1.5 that could easily take the title with a clean landing. It looks like a 5.2 difficulty vault will be needed to take the win, but with added difficulty comes greater risk, which could open the door for the likes of Dominic Ramalho and Franco Peirano, who both have clean Kas fulls.

• Logan Watterson (Greenville) – 14.767
• Matthew Petros (Navy) – 14.567
• Sam Lee (William & Mary) – 14.500
• Dominic Ramalho (Springfield) – 14.350
• Franco Peirano (Army) – 14.333

Parallel Bars

After winning the title at the USAG Championships, Matthew Petros is looking to repeat that performance. He has five wins so far this season, but there are a few athletes right behind him in the rankings that could provide a challenge.

• Matthew Petros (Navy) – 13.983
• Sam Lee (William & Mary) – 13.683
• Sam Kaplan (Springfield) – 13.600
• Jaxon Clapper (Greenville) – 13.550
• Alex Catchpole (Simpson) – 13.083

High Bar

Matthew Petros is once again the favorite to win this event as the No. 1 ranked gymnast in the ECAC, but he has been outscored by several athletes. Springfield’s Owen Carney has the highest score this season with a 14.050, Army’s Zachary Perez follows with a 13.700, and the Tribe’s Ricky Pizem is not too far behind with a 13.500.

• Matthew Petros (Navy) – 13.467
• Ricky Pizem (William & Mary) – 13.250
• Zachary Perez (Army) – 13.217
• Owen Carney (Springfield) – 13.017

All-Around

Springfield’s Sam Kaplan has had an outstanding season thus far and comes in as the No. 1 ranked all-arounder in the ECAC. He’s the only athlete to have reached the 80 mark (80.450) in the conference this season. Reigning ECAC all-around champion Isaiah Drake could give him a run for his money, but he’s only competed all six once this season and has struggled with injury.

• Sam Kaplan (Springfield) – 78.017
• Aidan Cuy (William & Mary) – 75.717
• Sterling Pariza (Simpson) – 74.183
• Jaden Blank (Army) – 73.550