March 18, 2004

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army's gymnastics team will be among the top challengers in the nine-team field competing at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships being hosted by the University of Chicago-Illinois this weekend.

The Black Knights head into the meet ranked second in the conference behind host and top-seed UIC. William & Mary is third followed by two-time defending champion Temple.

Army will be in the hunt for its first ECAC title and bid to the NCAA Championships since the early '60s. The last time the Black Knights won the Eastern crown and went to the NCAAs was in 1962 and 1963, respectively. Head coach Doug Van Everen is confident that this year's team can bring home the title after finishing runner-up in 2003.

The No. 12-ranked Black Knights show a 5-2 mark against seven of the other eight members of the field. Their two losses were to No. 14 Temple in January and No. 10 UIC earlier in the week, while beating No. 13 William & Mary, No. 15 Navy, No. 17 Springfield, No. 18 James Madison and No. 19 Southern Connecticut State.

Army and No. 22 MIT did not compete against each on the dual circuit, but they met earlier in the year at the West Point Open where the Black Knights finished third and the Engineers placed ninth.

"A long flight caused by weather conditions created problems for us in our meet with Illinois-Chicago," stated head coach Doug Van Everen. "But we are not making excuses for that loss. We had a great practice on Thursday and we are going to go out and get the job done."

Army closed out its regular-season 10-4, trailing last year's 13-win total, in posting its second best mark over a 14-year span that dates back to the 1990-91 season.

The Black Knights head into the conference championships ranked among the leaders in all six individual events and the all-around. Brian Lee is the top-seed on still rings and second on parallel bars, where he is ranked nationally in both. He has been No. 2 in every poll this season on rings (9.783) and is tied for 15th on parallel bars (8.983).

Lee finished runner-up on the rings last year and will be looking to capture this year's title, which would be Army's first in that event in 10 years. The Fremont, Calif., native will also be a contender on high bar, where he is seeded sixth (8.667).

Kyle Welsh stands fourth in the conference on floor exercise (8.95) and vault (9.233). Team captain Nate Whitten and Chris Kennedy rank second (9.05) and fourth (8.917), respectively, in the league on pommel horse. Whitten is Army's top all-arounder and among the leaders, ranking fourth (51.75) in the league and 18th nationally.

The team and all-around competition begins Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern time with the top eight individuals in the six events advancing to Sunday's finals. Army has crowned a champion 10 of the last 11 years.