Temple University Athletics
Men's Gymnastics Shines in Final Home Meet, Topping Army and Navy with Season-High Score
3.21.09 | Men's Gymnastics
March 21, 2009
PHILADELPHIA - Reigning ECAC Gymnast of the Week Patrick McLaughlin put on quite a performance for the large crowd at McGonigle Hall for men's gymnastics alumni homecoming, as the junior took first in the all-around (85.7500, floor (14.550), parallel bars (14.550) and second on the still rings (14.400) to lead the Owls to dominating performance against conference rivals Army and Navy.
The Owls took first place at the tri-meet with a season-high score of 340.800, easily topping Navy (323.600) and Army (317.150).
Along with McLaughlin, sophomore Scott Bloomfield took first on vault (16.050), Jesse Kitsen-Abelson took first on pommel horse (14.200) and freshman Chris Mooney finished first on rings (14.700), as the Cherry and White took first in every event except for high bar.
With a crowd full of alumni on hand to celebrate alumni homecoming, Temple took to the floor in the first rotation with McLaughlin leading the way with 14.550 (tucked full-in; tucked Thomas), good for first-place overall on the event. Right behind McLaughlin was sophomore Tyler Croteau, whose 14.500 included a stuck Arabian double pike mount and whip to immediate tucked double Arabian for a second pass.
Army started the afternoon on pommel horse and swung clean yet conservative routines, thus avoiding having to count a major error and was led by Justin Sappington's 13.850, which wound up giving him third place on the event.
Navy started its competition on the still rings, with several guys showing difficult strength sequences and clean lines throughout. The top rings score for Navy was Adam Stanton's 14.250--good enough for fifth place.
After the first rotation, Navy was first with a 55.950, Temple second at 55.200, and Army in third at 52.150.
The second rotation featured home-team Temple on pommel horse with Jesse Kitsen-Abelson taking top honors with an event-high 14.200. Freshman Chris Mooney was also very solid with a 13.800 lead-off score, and senior co-captain John Vogtman finished fifth with 13.550.
Navy was forced to only put up five athletes on several events, including the floor exercise, and struggled to a 51.600 team total. Missing for the Midshipmen was Dylan Parrott--the #3 all-around athlete in the conference.
Army swung clean rings routines, but lacked the big and difficult skills needed for top scores on the event, finishing with a 53.300 total.
Temple had claimed the lead after the second rotation with a 110.250. Navy slipped to second with a 107.550, and Army remained in third with 106.300. The teams would hold onto these respective positions for the rest of the afternoon.
Temple, the no. 2 ranked team in the conference on the still rings, had to compete the event without the services of two if its stars in Adam Al-Rokh and Matt Martin. Both athletes suffered some serious chest strains while practicing similar strength moves on the event earlier in the week. The Owls, however, proved their depth on this event thanks to a 14.700 by Mooney (good for first), and a three-way tie for second between senior Jason Russo, McLaughlin and Vogtman--all scoring 14.400.
In the fourth rotation, Temple went to vault with lead-off guy Jeff Zack once again turning in a solid Kasamatsu for a 15.100. However, it was Scott Bloomfield's Kasamatsu that earned a meet-high and personal season-high score of 16.050.
With Temple on the parallel bars in the fifth rotation with a sizeable lead over the rest of the field, the Owls proved they could hit routines with high levels of difficulty, taking places first through fourth--McLaughlin (14.550 with a stuck double pike); Russo (14.400 for a Morisue and straddled front flip); Croteau (14.200) and senior Rob Kay (13.750).
In the sixth and final rotation of the afternoon, Temple took to the high bar, an event that has given this team and its fans nightmares all season long. Senior co-captain Nick Iles started things off with a cleanly caught Tkatchev release, only to have Blake Collins catch his Gienger release on his chest. For Collins, he continued un-phased and swung one of the cleanest and most precise high bar sets of the competition.
While the rest of the team had its share of slight mishaps here and there on the event, overall they appeared to be much improved and ready for the event once its time for conference championships.
Today's competition also marked the last home competition for seniors Vogtman, Iles, Kay, Russo and Ryan Healy.
The Owls will go for three-peat when they head to West Point Academy on Friday, April 3, for the 2009 ECAC Championships. From there, Temple will learn whether or not they advance to the NCAA Championships, scheduled for April 16-18, 2009 on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
Overall Results
Team
1st: Temple- 340.800
2nd: Navy- 323.600
3rd: Army- 317.150
All Around
1st: Patrick McLaughlin, Temple- 85.750
2nd:Justin Sappington, Army- 79.600
3rd: Ty Smith, Army- 75.700
Floor Exercise
1st: McLaughlin, Temple- 14.550
2nd: Tyler Croteau, Temple- 14.500
3rd: Kelson Lumpkin, Army- 13.700
4th: Nolan Melson, Army- 13.500 T
5th: Jon Hoey, Army- 13.300
T5th: Aaron Ingram, Navy- 13.300
Pommel Horse
T1st: Jesse Kitsen-Abelson, Temple- 14.200
T1st: Adam Stanton, Navy- 14.200
3rd: Sappington, Army- 13.850
4th: Chris Mooney, Temple- 13.800
5th: John Vogtman, Temple- 13.550
Rings
1st: Mooney, Temple- 14.700
T2nd: Jason Russo, Temple- 14.400
T2nd: McLaughlin, Temple- 14.400
T2nd: Vogtman, Temple- 14.400
5th: Stanton, Navy- 14.250
Top score for Army: Sappington- 14.050 (finished 6th)
Vault
1st: Scott Bloomfield, Temple- 16.050
2nd: Mooney, Temple- 15.400
3rd: McLaughlin, Temple- 15.350
4th: Jeff Zack, Temple- 15.100
5th: Tim Tieng, Army- 14.400
Top score for Navy: Brandon Tinkham- 14.300 (finished 6th)
Parallel Bars
1st: McLaughlin, Temple- 14.550
2nd: Russo, Temple- 14.400
3rd: Croteau, Temple- 14.200
4th: Rob Kay, Temple- 13.750
T5th: Trey Godfrey, Navy- 13.700
T5th: Stanton, Navy- 13.700
Top score for Army: Tieng- 13.100 (finished 11th)
High Bar
1st: Joe Atzenback, Navy- 14.200
2nd: Vogtman, Temple- 13.950
3rd: Andrew Falk, Navy- 13.900
4th: Bloomfield, Temple- 13.500
T5th: McLaughlin, Temple- 13.400
T5th: Sappington, Army- 13.400
