Falcons Hold On To Take Second At Home Tri-Meet

Feb. 20, 2010

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Backed by solid performances from its final three competitors on the floor exercise, the Air Force women's gymnastics team placed second (188.000) in a triangular meet with Southeast Missouri State (194.050) and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation foe Seattle Pacific (187.075) on Saturday, Feb. 20, at the Academy's Cadet West Gym.

Southeast Missouri State easily won the team competition with a score of 194.050. However, it was the battle for second between a pair of conference opponents that had the crowd's attention.

The Falcons held a slight advantage over Seattle-Pacific throughout the first three rotations, but that lead disappeared during the final event. With SPU on the vault and Air Force on the floor exercise, Seattle's final tally of 187.075 was official at the midway point of the Falcons' lineup.

Senior Michelle Denise got things going for the Falcons on the floor, as she tallied a 9.650 to match her best score of the season. Junior Brittany Dutton followed with a career-best performance of 9.800, which put the Falcons behind Seattle Pacific by just .125 points. Sophomore Jenna Dudley used a performance of 9.750 to boost Air Force to a team total of 188.000 and a second-place finish in the three-team meet.

Dutton, who used her career-best 9.800 to finish second on the floor exercise, wasn't the only Air Force gymnast to notch a new personal-best score. Dudley placed second on the vault with a career-high score of 9.775. It is the second straight meet that the Falcons' sophomore has upped her score on the vault, tallying a 9.700 during her last outing in Texas.

Dudley also finished third on the uneven bars (9.675) and fifth on the floor (9.750) to finish third in the all-around standings with a score of 37.950. Denise finished fourth in the all-around with a season-high score of 37.075, while junior Lisa Wong earned a fifth-place score of 9.675 on the balance beam.

The Falcons' team total of 188.000 is its second-highest score of the season, as were their event scores on the vault (47.650), balance beam (46.650) and floor exercise (47.600). The win over SPU improved the Falcons to 3-1 against MPSF opponents this season.

Air Force returns to action on Monday, Feb. 22, when it travels up Interstate-25 for a dual meet with No. 18 Denver at Hamilton Gymnasium. Action is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.

Complete Results (NCAA Scoresheet)

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