Around the Yard: Army Gymnastics punches ticket to Nationals, Sandhurst, and more

Amidst the grind of spring sports, Gymnastics is heading to Nationals while the one of the most renowned military competitions takes place along the banks of the Hudson this weekend.

By Joe Kramer Apr 12, 2019, 6:30pm PDT

In addition to having freshman Mathew Davis honored as the Army West Point Athletic Association Athlete of the week, the men’s gymnastics team has even bigger news - the Black Knights are heading to NCAA Nationals for the first time since 2015. Army consistently sends individual qualifiers to Nationals; however, this will be the fifth time Army has qualified as a team under Dr. Doug VanEveren.

Let’s see what else is going on with Army athletics this week:

Sandhurst

While not a collegiate association-sanctioned sport, Sandhurst is an international military skills competition held annually at West Point since its inception in 1967. The 2019 competition is currently underway, with cadets from all three Service Academies, the Coast Guard Academy, various college ROTC programs, as well as international military teams vying for bragging rights.

The 51st annual #Sandhurst2019 Military Skills Competition has officially started as 49 teams from around the world battle it out over 30 miles of terrain, with several events over the course of just two days. Let the games begin! #Sandhurst2019 pic.twitter.com/6ksYrlJ7k2
— U.S. Military Academy (@WestPoint_USMA) April 12, 2019

Men’s Basketball

Army’s men’s basketball team received some attention this week as Villanova announced they will be hosting the Black Knights as part of their 2019 - 2020 campaign. Army managed to give Duke a run for their money early this past season, so don’t count them out just yet.

Baseball

The Army baseball team swept Manhattan at home Wednesday afternoon, winning 12-6 and 4-1. The Black Knights improved to 19-14 on the season and will host Patriot League foe Lafayette this weekend.

Softball

Army softball split their doubleheader with Marist on Wednesday, blanking the Red Foxes 6-0 in Game 1 before falling in Game 2, 5-1. The softball team also resumes Patriot League action this weekend, travelling to Pennsylvania to take on Lehigh.

Congrats to our three cadet-athletes that were named to the @NFFNetwork Hampshire Honor Society! #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/5Y1TrhsEa6
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) April 11, 2019

Football

Ahead of tonight’s Black and Gold spring game, a handful of Army football players received recognition as members of the 20199 NFF Hampshire Honor Society. The three players nominated by Army were Kenneth Brinson, Andy Davidson, and Max Regan.

The Black and Gold Game captains were announced earlier this week, with former Army QB and NFL-hopeful, Trent Steelman, named as one of the Black Team captains.