Gymnasts Rank No. 1 Academically
Including Georgia's Own, Sean Blackman

Sean Blackman earned a No. 1 military and academic ranking in the Plebe class.

Navy men's gymnastics prides itself on being an athletically competitive team, but the Mids also strive to be among the best students at the Academy. Despite a rigorous and demanding schedule, two members of the men's gymnastics squad were recently recognized as the top students in their classes, as freshman Sean Blackman stands number one in the Plebe class and Nick Schmitz is the top-ranked sophomore. Blackman and senior Drew Barker also finished atop their classes in military ranking.

Blackman, in his first year at Navy, managed to balance the rigors of Plebe Year along with his academic workload and his role as a starter for the gymnastics team. A Fayetteville, Ga. native, Blackman won the still rings in his first collegiate meet at the Navy Open on Jan. 17. The freshman scored a 9.2 as the Mids upset then-No. 12 William & Mary in the season opener and then posted a second 9.2 at the West Point Open to qualify for the event finals. Blackman also earned the No. 1 military ranking in his class.

Schmitz, a political science major, continues to manage his time so that he can actively participate on the gymnastics squad and maintain the highest academic standing in the Class of 2006. Out of Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Md., Schmitz joined the United States Marine Corps, where he served for two years before entering the Naval Academy. Schmitz finished the fall term with a No. 6 military ranking in his class.

Barker made his season debut last weekend at the James Madison Open, competing on the floor and the horizontal bar. Despite battling injury during the off-season and early season, the Kennewick, Wash. native earned a No. 1 military ranking and finished the fall with an 11th-place rank academically.

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