2008 varsity team champion Navy

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., March 25, 2009) – The College of William & Mary is set to host the 2009 USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships this weekend at Kaplan Arena. The team competition will be held on Friday, March 27, starting at 5 p.m. ET, and the individual events are Saturday, March 28, at 5 p.m.

“USA Gymnastics is proud to sponsor the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships as part of its efforts to support and promote collegiate gymnastics at all levels,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “Collegiate gymnastics is an important segment of our sport and this event provides additional universities the opportunity to compete for a national title.”

The varsity schools scheduled to participate are College of William and Mary, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Springfield College, U.S. Air Force Academy and U.S. Naval Academy. The club teams hail from Arizona State University, the College at Brockport, James Madison University and University of Washington. For a list of the gymnasts, click here.

The championships, sponsored by USA Gymnastics, the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States, is divided into two categories, varsity and collegiate. The varsity competition is for Division I, II, or III, four-year institutions with gymnastics as a varsity sport, and the collegiate team category is for two-year or four-year degree-granting schools with gymnastics as a club sport. Each category produces its own winners for the team and individual competitions.

Last year Navy won the team varsity event with a score of 339.30, ending William & Mary’s streak of seven straight victories. Arizona State won the team collegiate category for the tenth time in the past eleven years with a score of 319.20. Returning champions from last year are Jacob Schonig of the U.S. Air Force Academy who won the rings competition with a score of 15.550 and Adam Stanton of the U.S. Naval Academy who was victorious at the pommel horse with a score of 14.600. Air Force’s Greg Stine claimed his second straight varsity all-around crown, and Washington’s Ivan Koveshnikov won the collegiate all-around.

Admission may be purchased either by session ($7 for adults, $5 for children ages 5-17) or for the entire weekend (adult $9, children $6). Children under five and college students with a valid college ID receive free admission. All tickets may be purchased at the Kaplan Arena Box Office (757.221.3340) at this time.