Ninth-Ranked Air Force Heads to USAG Collegiate Nationals
3/22/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Meet Notes 10: at USAG Collegiate National Championships 
The ninth-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team opens the championship portion of its season this weekend in defense of its USAG team title. The Falcons will travel to Everett, Wash., for the 2017 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships. The two-day meet will feature the team and all-around finals on Friday, March 24, and the individual event finals on Saturday, March 26.
MEET INFORMATION
The 2017 USAG Collegiate National Championships will take place on March 24-25 at the Walt Price Student Fitness Center (2206 Tower Street) on the campus of Everett Community College and feature five varsity teams (Air Force, Navy, Springfield, Temple, William and Mary) and three club programs (Arizona State, SC United, Washington). The team and all-around finals will take place at 2:00 p.m. (PT) on Friday, while the individual event championships will begin at 7:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday. Ticket prices at $10 for adults and $7 for youth aged 6-17, while children under six are free. Parking is available in Lot J (Tower Street) or Lot E (10th Street). Additional information can be found at 2017usagymnasticscollegiatenationals.com.
LOOKING AT THE FIELD
Ranked ninth in the national standings with a four-score average of 405.683, Air Force leads the USAG field. Among the Varsity Division team the Falcons will face this weekend, Navy is 11th with a 402.933 average while William and Mary is ranked 13th (397.783), Springfield College is ranked 16th (389.017) and Temple is ranked 19th (376.883). Arizona State, ranked 15th with a four-score average of 394.827, currently leads the Club Division squads, while Washington and SC United are listed 17th (384.950) and 20th (327.617), respectively.
HISTORY 101
Air Force has won the last seven USAG team titles, while accounting for 23 individual champions and 70 USAG All-America certificates during that span. Current Falcons Fletcher Braunton, Chase Cannon, Aaron Nubine and Tim Wang have combined for 13 USAG All-America accolades, while Wang has also accounted for three individual titles (2015, 2016 pommel horse; 2016 all-around). Since Air Force began competing at the USAG meet in 1994, it has totaled seven team championships, 39 individual titles and 175 USAG All-America awards.
AIR FORCE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
With a four-score average of 405.683, the Falcons are ranked ninth in the national standings. Air Force is listed among the nation's top 10 on the pommel horse (sixth, 67.300), still rings (seventh, 68.933) and parallel bars (ninth, 67.533). Individually, Tim Wang is ranked fifth on the pommel horse (14.717), sixth on the vault (14.817) and seventh on the still rings (14.617), while Jonathon Fornoff is ranked ninth on the parallel bars (14.333) and Chase Cannon is listed 14th on the high bar (14.200).
WANG NAMED NISSEN-EMERY FINALIST
Tim Wang was named one of the eight finalists for the 2017 Nissen-Emery Award – the most prestigious honor in all of collegiate gymnastics – backed by a career that (to date) includes two NCAA All-America awards, three USAG event titles, seven USAG All-America certificates, three invitations to the Winter Cup Challenge, two MVP awards and four Academy records.
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE FALCONS
Air Force is off from competition next week, as it prepares for the 2017 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, which will be held in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday, April 8.
Players Mentioned
