Air Force Travels to Navy and Temple
1/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Jan. 22, 2009
After a week off from competition, the 14th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team travels to the East Coast for a pair of competitions. The Falcons will compete at the Navy Open in Annapolis, Md., on Saturday, Jan. 24, before heading to Philadelphia, Pa., to face Temple in dual meet action on Sunday, Jan. 25.
Meet Notes 02 - at Navy Open, at Temple 
LOOKING AT THE LINEUPS
In addition to facing off with their service academy rival Navy at the Mids' annual meet on Saturday, the Falcons will also compete against William and Mary, Springfield and Temple. It will be the first of two meetings between Air Force and Temple in as many days, as the programs will travel to the Owls' home gym for a dual meet on Sunday.
LIVE FROM PHILLY...IT'S AIR FORCE GYMNASTICS
Temple is scheduled to video-stream its dual meet with Air Force on Sunday, Jan. 25. Fans can access the video feed by going to Temple's website, www.owlsports.com.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Three of the Falcons' four opponents opened the 2009 season last weekend at the annual West Point Open on Jan. 16-17. Navy finished second with a score of 329.150, while Temple (328.050) and Springfield (326.200) placed third and fourth, respectively. William and Mary will open the 2009 season at the Navy Open.
GOING BY RANK
Navy currently leads the list of competitors at its own meet with a ninth-place spot in the national rankings. Temple is 10th, while Springfield and Air Force round out the field ranked 12th and 14th, respectively.
AIR FORCE OUT ON TOP
As a team, the Falcons are listed among the nation's top-10 in two events. Air Force is ranked ninth on the still rings with an average of 55.850 and 10th on the pommel horse with an average of 52.000
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE FALCONS
Despite being less than a month in to the season, Air Force will close out the 2009 home slate on Saturday, Jan. 31. The Falcons will host service academy rival Army at 2 p.m., in the Cadet West Gym. Prior to the meet, Air Force will honor its two senior captains, Josiah Loeser and Jake Schonig.
FALCONS TAKE THIRD AT ROCKY MOUNTAIN OPEN
The Falcons opened the season with a third-place finish at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 10. Air Force, which earned seven top-10 finishes, earned a team score of 317.900 to finish behind third behind No. 2 Oklahoma and 10th-ranked Nebraska.
ZAISER PACES FALCONS AT RMO
Sophomore Aaron Zaiser paced the Falcons with a fifth-place finish on the vault at the Rocky Mountain Open. His career-best score of 15.350 is tied for the second-highest mark in Air Force history. That mark is just .050 shy of the program standard.
MILLS STARTS STRONG
Sophomore Nash Mills, who competed just once as a freshman, picked up a pair of top-10 finishes at the Rocky Mountain Open. Mills led the squad with a tie for eighth on the high bar (13.350), while also placing 10th on the still rings with a score of 14.300.
FRESH FACES IN THE RECORD BOOK
In his collegiate debut on Jan. 10, freshman Chase Nobles posted a score of 13.700 to pace the Falcons on the pommel horse. That mark is just .100 shy of the Falcons' record, which is currently held by teammate Garrett Canter. Freshman Jacob Houder tied for the seventh-best pommel horse score (13.350) in Air Force history, while garnering a top-15 all-time score (13.800) on the parallel bars. Classmate Joel Uptmor debuted in the top-20 vault scores with a 14.550 on the apparatus.
