Air Force Travels to Rutgers for Quad Meet
2/23/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Feb. 23, 2012
The Air Force women's gymnastics team travels to Piscataway, N.J., for a quad meet at Rutgers on Saturday, Feb. 25. The Falcons will face the host Scarlet Knights, as well as Bridgeport and Eastern Michigan. Action begins at 7 p.m. (EST) at the Livingston Recreation Center on Rutgers' campus.
Meet Notes 07: at Rutgers, with Bridgeport, Eastern Michigan 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
All three of Air Force's opponents are ranked within five places of one another in the GymInfo national rankings. Bridgeport is ranked 46th with a season average of 192.546, while Eastern Michigan is ranked 49th with a 192.145 average. Rutgers ranked 51st with an average score of 191.671.
AROUND THE CONFERENCE
Jessica Hanner currently leads the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation on the balance beam, with an average 9.688. In addition to Hanner, Linnaea Hance is ranked fifth on that event with a 9.525 average. Samantha Jones is ranked sixth on both the vault (9.625) and uneven bars (9.567), while Jen Larsen and Hance are ranked fifth (37.880) and sixth (37.869), respectively, in the all-around.
WALLANDER EARNS MPSF HONOR
Jessica Wallander was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week on Feb. 21. The freshman won the vault and claimed the team's top finishes on the floor exercise and uneven bar during the Falcons' win over conference leader UC Davis on Feb. 18. Wallander scored a 9.800 to win the vault, while taking second on the floor exercise with a career-best 9.750 and tying for second on the uneven bars with a 9.700.
TWO FOR TWO
Air Force has claimed the conference's gymnast of the week honors during each of the last two weeks. Katie Hawthorne claimed the honor on Feb. 14, while Jessica Wallander was honored on Feb. 21. It is the first time in five years that the Falcons have claimed back-to-back weekly honors from the MPSF.
FALCONS WIN HOME OPENER
The Falcons made a splash in its home opener on Feb. 18, defeating Mountain Pacific Sports Federation leader UC Davis by a 191.625-190.925 margin. Jessica Wallander claimed a victory on the vault, while pacing the squad on the floor exercise (second) and tying with Linnaea Hance for the team's top finish (second) on the uneven bars. Jessica Hanner paced the Falcons on the balance beam with a second-place finish.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Falcons scored a team score 191.625 to defeat UC Davis (190.925) on Feb. 18. It is Air Force's first victory over the Aggies since March 22, 2003.
TO THE FLOOR
Behind Jessica Wallander's second-place score of 9.750, the Falcons claimed four of the top five spots on the floor exercise, en route to the team's best overall score of the season (48.500). Alexandra Stych and Katie Hawthorne tied for third with matching scores of 9.725 - career-best scores for both - while Linnaea Hance finished fifth with a personal-best score of 9.700.
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE FALCONS
The Falcons return to the Academy for their final home matches of the season. Air Force will honor senior Sammi Jones during its Senior Night Celebration on Friday, March 2, as they host Seattle Pacific at 6 p.m. The Falcons return to Cadet West Gym on Monday, March 5, when they host Denver and Western Michigan.
Players Mentioned
