Falcons Head to MPSF Championships
4/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
April 1, 2009
The 15th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team will travel to Palo Alto, Calif., for the 2009 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships on Saturday, April 4. The Falcons will face off with the top three teams in the nation - No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 California - in addition to ninth-ranked Nebraska.
Meet Notes 09: at MPSF Championships 
MEET INFORMATION
The meet, which is slated to begin at 4 p.m. (PST), will be held at Maples Pavilion on the campus of Stanford University. Air Force will begin on the pommel horse and continue its progression to high bar, floor exercise, pommel horse and still rings, before concluding on the vault.
COMING IN AT NUMBER ONE!
Senior Jake Schonig leads the NCAA on the still rings, according to the March 30 rankings. With a modified three-score average of 15.433, Schonig leads the nation by .100. It is the first time this season that the Falcons' co-captain has led the NCAA, although he has led the USAG Division for nearly all of the 2009 season.
WHAT A WEEKEND!
In addition to successfully defending his USAG title on the still rings, Jake Schonig received the USAG Outstanding Senior Gymnast Award on March 28. It is the third straight year that an Air Force gymnast has won the division's top award, as Kurt Antonio and Greg Stine won the award in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Former Falcons Jerry Michael Cline (1994) and Aaron Jackson (2003) have also won the award.
COLLECTING EVEN MORE AWARDS
Jake Schonig was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week on March 31. He is the second Air Force gymnast to earn the award this season, joining sophomore Nash Mills, who earned the honor on Feb. 2.
SCHONIG REPEATS AS STILL RINGS CHAMP
On March 27, senior Jake Schonig became just the third Air Force gymnast to claim back-to-back national titles on the same event, as he won his second consecutive USAG championships on the still rings. Posting a score of 15.500, Schonig joined Greg Stine (all-around, 2007-08) and Levi Torkelson (parallel bars, 1999-2000) as the program's back-to-back champions.
FIVE FALCONS CLAIM USAG ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Five members of the Falcons' program accounted for six USAG All-America certificates during the individual event finals on March 28. Jacob Houder collected a pair of honors in his USAG debut, placing third on the high bar and fourth on the pommel horse. Jake Schonig and Josiah Loeser finished first and second, respectively, on the still rings. Joel Uptmor and Devin Menefee rounded out the Falcons' USAG All-Americans, as Uptmor finished fifth on the floor exercise and Menefee placed sixth on the vault.
WHAT'S YOUR CAREER?
Seven Falcons set or matched personal-best marks during the USAG team finals on March 27. Jacob Houder matched his Academy-record score of 14.200 on the pommel horse, while Brennan Wolford (13.100) and Matt Thorne (12.400) both tallied new career-high marks on that event. Jake Schonig equaled his personal-best score of 15.650 (the second-best in Academy history) on the still rings, while Josiah Loeser improved his tally to 14.900. Aaron Zaiser also improved his career-best score (13.850) on the rings, while Devin Menefee upped his scores on both the still rings (14.45) and high bar (13.200).
DID YOU KNOW?
With his score of 14.450 on the still rings, Devin Menefee is just the fourth individual to crack the program's top-20 list in that event. The 20 highest scores for Air Force have been set or matched 39 times since the NCAA switched to the new scoring system in 2008. Menefee, who debuted at 20th, is the first gymnast besides Greg Stine, Jake Schonig and Josiah Loeser to hold one of those 39 spots.
FALCONS TAKE THIRD AT USAG CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Falcons placed third in the team standings at the USAG Collegiate Championships on March 27. Posting a score of 332.750, Air Force finished just one point out of second. Contributing to the seventh-highest team score in Academy history was the Falcons' highest still rings score of the season.
GETTING OUT ON TOP
The Falcons have accounted for 13 top-10 placements in the March 30 national USAG rankings. Seniors Jake Schonig and Josiah Loeser are ranked first and third, respectively, on the still rings, while freshman Joel Uptmor is ranked second on the vault. Sophomore Nash Mills and freshman Jacob Houder are each listed among the top-10 on three events. As a team, the Falcons lead the USAG Division on the still rings and vault.
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE FALCONS
The 2009 season will conclude April 16-18 with the NCAA Gymnastics Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. The complete list of entries into the national meet will be available next week.
Players Mentioned
