Falcons Travel To Texas For Meet at TWU
2/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
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Feb. 25, 2004
The Air Force women's gymnastics team heads back to Denton, Texas, for its third showdown of the season with Texas Woman's University, on Saturday, Feb. 28. BYU will join the Falcons and Pioneers for the 7 p.m., competition at Magee Arena. TWU is the alma mater of Air Force head coach Lisa Woody.
CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION (TWU)
The Pioneers are currently 2-14 on the season, coming off of a 192.750-192.100 loss to Centenary last weekend...the last victory for TWU came against the Falcons back on Jan. 24 in Denton...TWU is ranked No. 55 in the country, with a RQS of 190.380...in the Midwest Independent rankings, the Pioneers are ranked fourth.
HEAD COACH: Frank Kudlac (West Chester, 1978) - 26th year
ASSISTANT COACHES: Jackie Fain (Kentucky, 1983)
CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION (BYU)
BYU is coming off of its third straight win on Monday night, defeating Missouri, 196.725-195.525...without counting Monday's scores, the Cougars are ranked No. 24 in the GymInfo rankings, with an RQS of 195.230...they are currently ranked No. 11 in the floor exercise with a 49.295 and No. 16 on the vault (49.055)...they are led by Kari Lords, who is currently ranked second in the country on the balance beam with a 9.939...
HEAD COACH: Brad Cattermole (Brigham Young) - 16th year
ASSISTANT COACHES: Dawn Cattermole (15th year), Shauna Mertza (10th year)
IT'S ALL ABOUT TEAMWORK
As a team, the Falcons are ranked second on the vault and third on the floor exercise among teams in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation according to the latest GymInfo conference rankings. Air Force posted a RQS of 48.220 on the vault, trailing only Sacramento State, who has registered a 48.500. The Falcons regional qualifying score of 48.285 on the floor exercise moved them into third-place for that event, trailing San Jose State (48.570) and Sacramento State (48.520).
FROM THE TOP
Two Falcons top the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation individual rankings in three events. Senior Erin Maguire is the top-ranked gymnasts on both the balance beam and floor exercise, with regional qualifying score of 9.770 and 9.835, respectively. Junior Jessa Liegl tops the conference on the vault, with a RQS of 9.755. San Jose State's Shirla Choy is the only other gymnast to top an event, claiming the top scores on the balance beam and in the all-around.
NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL RANKINGS
The Falcons moved up one spot in the North Central regional rankings, according to the most recent GymInfo rankings. With a regional qualifying score of 189.685, Air Force moved into the No. 8 spot, distancing itself from the ninth-ranked team.
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons finished third at the UNO Classic in Tempe, Ariz., on Friday, Feb. 20. Fourth-ranked Utah won the meet with a team total of 196.850, just edging out host Arizona State, who posted a 196.500. The Falcons rounded out the competition with a score of 190.450. As a team, the Falcons matched the highest floor score of the season, tying the mark of 48.925 that they set last week against Denver. Their vault score (48.400) was the second-highest score of the season on that apparatus. The Falcons opened on the beam, where senior Laura Frank posted a 9.725 to lead the team. Classmate Erin Maguire was right behind her with a score of 9.700. Maguire garnered the team's highest finish on the floor exercise, taking a 9.875, while Jessa Liegl was just .025 behind with a 9.850. Liegl also recorded the top individual event scores on the vault and bars with matching scores of 9.775.
LIEGL NAMED MPSF GYMNAST OF THE WEEK
Air Force gymnast Jessa Liegl was named Co-Gymnast of the Week by the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation for the week of Feb. 9. Liegl's honor comes from a stellar performance at the University of Rhode Island on Sunday, Feb. 8. The native of Lincoln, Neb., won the vault and floor exercise, with matching scores of 9.825. She also won the uneven bars with a score of 9.850 and finished second on the balance beam with a mark of 9.850. The combination led to a first-place finish in the all-around with a career-best score of 39.350 (just .050 off of the Academy record of 39.400). She shared the conference's weekly honor with freshman Dominique Ingram of Alaska Anchorage.
VALUED VAULTERS
The Falcons won the vault event at the dual-meet with Rhode Island on Feb. 8, posting a team total of 48.675. That mark is just .025 off of the school record (48.700). In fact, every member of the Air Force vault team finished within the top-five. Jessa Liegl won the event with a score of 9.825, while Erin Maguire and Laura Frank finished tied for second with a 9.800. Lauren Robison and Becky Lewis tied for fourth with matching scores of 9.625, while Sashonna Iwaniec placed fifth with a 9.525.
HOME SWEET HOME?
There's an old saying that home is where the heart is...but home is NOT where the Air Force gymnastics team has been lately. After opening the season at Cadet West Gym, hosting the Rocky Mountain Open, the Falcons have been home just once. With four of the last five meets on the road for their last four meets, Air Force has made stops in Oklahoma, Texas and Rhode Island. In fact, for the season, the Falcons will be home for just three meets, while competing away from the friendly confines of the Academy for 10.
MY NAME GOES THERE
Jessa Liegl matched the school record on the floor exercise at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 18, scoring a 9.950. Liegl tied former Falcon Allison Todd for the best mark on that event in school history.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN ... STILL
The Falcons get close to home next weekend, when they travel to Denver on Saturday, March 6. It will be the third time this season that the Falcons have faced the Pioneers.
Players Mentioned
