Boxing Opens 2014-15 Season This Weekend
9/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Boxing
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - A new era of Air Force boxing gets underway this weekend, as the Falcons kick off the 2014-15 season in Minden, Nev. Under the direction of interim head coach Lt Col Matt Glover, Air Force will compete in 12 regular-season competitions, including multiple contests with its service academy counterparts, as it prepares for the annual Wing Open Championships and NCBA postseason events.
2014-15 Air Force Boxing Schedule
Air Force opens the year against National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA) foes Nevada and Washington this Saturday (Sept. 13) at Carson Valley Inn in Minden, Nev. The three-team event, the squad's only competition in September, is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m. (PST).
The Falcons begin their home schedule on Friday, Oct. 3, when they host Navy at Cadet East Gym. That contest begins a month-long series of events against their service academy rivals. Following the early-October dual meet with Navy, Air Force will travel to Detroit on Friday, Oct. 24, to take on Army and Navy at the annual Service Academy Classic, before closing out the month in West Point at a showdown against defending NCBA champion Army on Friday, Oct. 31.
Air Force hosts Nevada in a rematch of the season-opening meet on Friday, Nov. 14, before beginning a new tradition of intra-squad competition with Thursday Night Throwdowns on Nov. 20. The Falcons will host four additional Thursday Night bouts (Dec. 4, Dec. 11, Jan. 8, Jan. 15), while also traveling to NCBA-sponsored events in New York City (Nov. 24) and Seattle (Jan. 24).
The Academy's 57th-annual Wing Open Boxing Tournament will get underway on Thursday, Jan. 29, with the preliminary round of competition. The quarterfinals (Feb. 5) and semifinals (Feb. 12) will determine the final lineup for the 2015 Wing Open Championships, which will be held under the lights of Clune Arena on Thursday, Feb. 19th.
The winners of the Wing Open will form the nucleus of the Air Force squad that will compete at the NCBA regional and national championships. Those events are tentatively scheduled for Mar. 12-14 (regionals) and April 2-3 (nationals).
Air Force returns seven NCBA All-Americans, including the defending 139-pound national champion, junior Jacob Berggren. Classmate Mateus Arcano (112-pound silver medalist, 2014), sophomore Adam Sumait (119-pound bronze medalist, 2014), senior Roy Taylor (125-pound silver medalist, 2013; 119-pound bronze medalist, 2012), senior Brandon Pitts (175-pound bronze medalist, 2014), junior Gytenis Borusas (195-pound bronze medalist, 2013) and sophomore Laurynas Galdikas (195-pound bronze medalist, 2014) also return to the Falcons' lineup.
Admission is free to all home Air Force boxing events, but please note that due to ongoing construction, the Falcons will open the season in Cadet East Gym.
Players Mentioned
