Falcons Host Denver for Senior Night
3/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
March 16, 2009
The Air Force women's gymnastics team closes out the regular season on Tuesday, March 17, when they host the 25th-ranked University of Denver at the Academy's Cadet West Gym. This will be the second meet in seven days for the Falcons. Following the 6 p.m. meet, the Falcons will honor senior Abbey Rogers.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Like Air Force, No. 25 Denver also competed this weekend, having traveled to No. 28 Washington on Sunday. The Pioneers posted their highest road total of the season to defeat the Huskies, 195.600-195.025. Entering last weekend, senior Jessica Lopez was ranked 11th in the nation in the all-around, with a regional qualifying average of 39.420. Additionally, she was tied for 16th on the vault (9.885). As a team, the Pioneers are ranked 25th with a RQS of 195.075, although their score at Washington is not reflected in that score (updated rankings will not be released until Tuesday morning).
JUST ROLLING ALONG
Air Force is in the midst of a grueling seven day span that features three competitions, including the conference championships. The Falcons competed at Southeast Missouri State on Saturday, March 14, before returning to the Academy for Tuesday's meet against No. 25 Denver. Air Force remains at the Academy for the MPSF Championships, which will be held on Friday, March 20.
BEAM ME UP
In its final regular season road meet, Air Force set a new season-best total on the balance beam at Southeast Missouri State on March 14. The Falcons tallied a team score of 47.550, improving their score by on that event by nearly a half point. Air Force was paced by freshman Jenna Dudley, who has a career-best performance on the apparatus of 9.725.
WHAT A NIGHT!
Freshman Jenna Dudley collected a pair of career-high scores during the Falcons' meet at SEMO on March 14. In addition to her team-leading 9.725 on the balance beam, Dudley also paced the squad on the vault with a personal-best 9.675. Those two scores helped Dudley to a third-place (38.100) in the all-around - the seventh time in 10 meets that she has surpassed the 38-point plateau.
MORE NEWS FROM THE CAPE
Jenna Dudley wasn't the only Falcon to account for career-best scores during the March 14 meet at Southeast Missouri State. Classmate Katie Shetley bolstered her personal-high on the balance beam to 9.700.
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE FALCONS
Air Force remains at the Academy to open post-season competition, as it hosts the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships on Friday, March 20. The Falcons will welcome league foes Alaska-Anchorage, Seattle-Pacific and UC Davis to the Academy's Cadet West Gym at 6 p.m.
