Air Force Academy
Springfield Triangular
Falcons Dominate Tri-Meet Competition
3/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
March 14, 2010
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Backed by a strong final rotation, the 12th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team placed first at the Pride Triangular in Springfield, Mass., on Sunday, March 14. The Falcons combined for a team total of 342.950 - the second-best score in Academy history - to dominate No. 16 William and Mary (337.800) and No. 14 Springfield (336.650).
Air Force tallied its second-highest score ever on the vault (62.350) to secure the overall victory. With Springfield leading the three-team meet by a point heading into the final rotation, Air Force claimed a share of the top three spots to easily defeat the competition (William and Mary - 57.150, parallel bars; Springfield - 54.700, high bar).
Freshman Travis Langham and sophomore Joel Uptmor paced the Falcons on the vault, tying for first with scores of 15.750. Langham's score is a career-best, while Uptmor matched his personal-best mark. Junior Nash Mills tied for third with a tally of 15.550, while sophomore Devin Menefee placed sixth with a score of 15.300.
The Falcons earned a pair of event titles from junior Dan Klimkowski, who won the pommel horse (career-best 14.300) and still rings (14.500). Klimkowski, who also tied for sixth on the floor exercise with a 14.300 tally, was one of two Falcons to finish among the top two on the rings. Mills scored a 14.400 to finish second to Klimkowski on that event.
Mills also tied for second on the high bar (14.250), while finishing in a tie for third on the parallel bars (14.450), en route to a winning score of 86.300 in the all-around. That combined score matches Mills' personal-best tally and the eighth-highest score in Academy history.
In addition to their winning scores on the vault, Langham scored a career-best matching 14.500 to place third on the floor exercise, while Uptmor tied for fourth with a score of 14.400. Uptmor also picked up a top-six finish on the still rings (14.150).
Senior Garrett Canter placed fourth on the high bar with a score of 14.000, while Mills and freshman James Okamoto tied for sixth on the pommel horse. Fellow freshman Thomas Wilkinson scored a 14.000 on the parallel bars to tie for sixth on that event.
Air Force, which had a perfect 3-0 weekend on the East Coast, concludes the regular season next weekend (Friday, March 19) when it travels to Tucson, Ariz., for a triangular meet with Arizona State and Washington.
Players Mentioned
