With eight roster spots open on the U.S. Men's Gymnastics National Team, five Cardinal gymnasts took to Las Vegas to compete on Thursday and Sunday February 19th and 21st at the Winter Cup: Akash Modi, Grant Breckenridge, Brian Knott, Robert Neff, and Taylor Seaton.
Modi grabbed his spot for the fifth time in his career, with ease. He has now made the team each year since 2012 (2012 & 2013 as a level 10 gymnast).
Finishing second overall with a combined score of 175.300 (86.850-Prelims, 88.450-Finals), he beat out 2012 Olympian John Orozcoâwho's famous for being featured in the Gym Class Heroes song "The Fighter".
Modi took 2nd on high bar with a combined score of 29.950, and 7th on parallel bars with a 29.100.
Junior Taylor Seaton tied for 5th on vault with a 30.300, freshman Grant Breckenridge took 5th on parallel bars with a 29.250, and sophomore Robert Neff finished 6th on high-bar with a 28.950.
Breckenridge also came in 13th for the all-around with a 170.150, along with Neff falling two spots behind with a 167.500.
Performances at this year's Winter Cup determined the 15 men on the U.S. Men's Senior National Team through the 2016 P&G Gymnastics Championships in Hartford, Connecticut on June 3-5. Seven spots were already filled by returning members of last year's 2015 world championship team (Paul Ruggeri, Chris Brooks, Danell Leyva, Donnell Whittenburg, Brandon Wynn, Alexander Naddour, and alternate Marvin Kimble).
The Cardinal will return home next Saturday, February 27th at 4pm to host the International Collegiate Challenge.
