Air Force Set to Host USAG National Championships
3/28/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
March 28, 2012
The 12th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team returns to the Academy this weekend to host the 2012 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships on Friday-Saturday (March 30-31). The two-day meet, featuring four varsity teams and three club teams, will be held at the Academy's Cadet West Gym and take place at 5 p.m., each day.
Meet Notes 10: USAG Collegiate National Championships 
MEET INFORMATION
The USAG Championships will feature four varsity teams (Air Force, Navy, Springfield, William & Mary) and three club programs (Arizona State, SUNY Brockport, Washington). Friday's competition will feature the team and all-around finals, as well as the event preliminaries, while Saturday's meet will be the combined event finals. Air Force will begin Friday's meet on the high bar, before rotating through the events are ending on a bye. The complete first rotation includes floor exercise (William & Mary), pommel horse (Navy), still rings (Washington), vault (Brockport), parallel bars (Arizona State), bye (Springfield) and high bar (Air Force).
TICKETING INFORMATION
Single session tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students with a valid ID, while two-day packages can be purchased for $10 adults and $7 for students. Tickets will only be available at the door to West Gym the day of the meet and are cash only.
IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE MEET...
The Falcons will have a web stream available at www.GoAirForceFalcons.com.
LOOKING AT THE FIELD
Air Force currently leads the USAG field, ranked 12th nationally with a four-score average of 336.033. Among varsity teams, William & Mary is ranked 14th at 330.000, while Navy and Springfield are ranked 16th (325.583) and 17th (325.367), respectively. Ranked 18th in the national standings, Arizona State currently leads the Club teams, with a four score average of 323.867. Brockport is ranked 19th with a 272.533 average, while Washington is ranked 20th with a 246.100 mark.
HISTORY 101
Air Force has won the last two USAG national team titles. Since 1996, the Falcons have accounted for 23 individual titles and over 125 USAG All-America distinctions. Current Falcons Devin Menefee (2010 vault), Tory Brown (2011 vault) and James Okamoto (2011 pommel horse) have captured USAG individual titles during the past two years, while Brown (2011), Okamoto (2010, 2011), Menefee (2009, 2010), Jacob Houder (2009) and Ben Zaiser (2011) have earned USAG All-America honors.
YOU LOOK FAMILIAR
Air Force has a 5-0 record against the teams it will be facing this weekend. The Falcons defeated Navy by two points at the All Academy Championships, while holding a 2-0 mark against Arizona State and 1-0 marks against both Washington and Brockport.
IN THE RANKINGS
Using the Four Score Average (select the four highest scores - counting no more than two home meets - drop the highest score and average the remaining three scores) that went into effect March 19, Air Force is ranked among the nation's top 10 on the parallel bars and high bar. The Falcons are ranked 10th in each event, with an average of 56.333 on the parallel bars and an average of 55.867 on the high bar. Individually, Devin Menefee is ranked among the nation's top 20, holding a four score average of 14.800 on the still rings to rank 19th.
FALCONS FINISH THIRD AT OKLAHOMA TRI-MEET
James Okamoto and Gared Chapman finished fifth on the pommel horse and still rings, respectively, to lead the Falcons (327.950) at a tri-meet against top-ranked Oklahoma (352.400) and No. 9 Nebraska (341.550) on March 17. Okamoto scored a 14.050 on the pommel horse, while Chapman collected a 14.550 on the still rings. Corbin Palmer posted the squad's top scores on both the floor exercise (career-best 14.500) and parallel bars (13.500).
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE FALCONS
Air Force closes out its home season next weekend, when it hosts the 2012 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Men's Gymnastics Championships. The Falcons will host California, Oklahoma and Stanford at the Cadet West Gym on Saturday, April 7.
Players Mentioned
