PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Temple seniors Nyika White and David Ramos both received invitations to the NCAA Qualifying Round to be held at West Point, NY on April 7th. White and Ramos played substantial roles in keeping the Owls ranked throughout the season. Following the ECAC-EIGL Championships, Temple is ranked 13th in the nation.
White earned his invitation to the tournament by boasting the number one overall ranking on rings in the country with a 9.775 average. The two-time All-American posted used his best score of the season (9.8) to earn a first place at the ECAC-EIGL Championships last weekend. This score also served as a season high for White. In addition to winning the rings, White also placed fifth on vault.
Vexler is another Temple gymnast nationally ranked. His event of expertise is the pommel horse, where he is currently ranked 15th with a qualifying average of 9.300. To accompany that achievement, Vexler ranks even higher (13th) in the all-around competition, which he will be participating in during the NCAA qualifying round. At the ECAC-EIGL Championships, Vexler finished the all-around placing fifth with a 51.975 total. He followed-up his performance in the all-around with a second place finish on pommel horse with a 9.250 and a third-place showing on the floor exercise (8.950).
Ramos, who won the floor exercise and the horizontal bar last year, was also victorious this season at the ECAC-EIGL Championships on the high bar, using his 8.950 to earn him the crown. Placing second in the all-around competition with a score of 52.200 adds to a stellar Championship resume. Ramos will be competing in the all-around competition during the NCAA qualifying round.
Many Temple underclassmen will also be competing at NCAA's. Junior Dan Berlin will attempt to win the pommel horse alongside freshman Sterling Kramer. During the qualifying round, Kramer will be competing on the pommel horse, parallel bar, and high bar. On vault joining White will be sophomore Derek Shepard.
A mixture of youth and experienced talent makes up the roster of Head Coach Fred Turoff, now in his 28th season.
The national qualifier, which consists of two pre-qualifying sessions, will be conducted April 7 at Holleder Center on the campus of the U.S. Military Academy. Three teams and the top three all-around competitors not on one of the qualifying teams, plus the top three individuals on each event not already qualified on a team or as an all-around competitor, will advance from each pre-qualifying session to the finals session. Final competitions will take place April 8-9, also at Army.
