Falcons Head East For a Pair of Weekend Meets
3/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
Meet Notes 08: at Navy, with William & Mary; at Illinois-Chicago 
Less than a week after competing in California, the ninth-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team travels across the country for a pair of weekend competitions. The Falcons will face No. 11 Navy and No. 14 William and Mary in Annapolis, Md., on Friday, March 10, before heading to Chicago, Ill., on Sunday, March 12, for a meet with No. 18 Illinois-Chicago. Friday's meet is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m. (ET), while Sunday's meet will get underway at 1:00 p.m. (CT).
IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE MEET
Both host schools will offer live stats through their athletic websites (NavySports.com. UICFlames.com)
SCOUTING FRIDAY'S OPPONENTS
Navy is currently ranked 11th in the national standings with a three-score average of 404.700, while William and Mary is ranked 14th with a 397.383 average. The pair faced each other last weekend, with the Pride earning a 394.900-393.500 victory over the Mids on March 3. Navy also competed in a triangular meet on March 5, scoring a 401.900 to defeat Army West Point (391.400) and Springfield (380.500). The Midshipmen ranked among the nation's top 10 on the parallel bars (ninth, 68.167) and high bar (ninth, 67.667), while Jonathan Tang is listed seventh in the all-around with a 92.482. William and Mary's top gymnast is Jacopo Gliozzi, who is tied for 11th on the pommel horse with a three-score mark of 14.367.
SCOUTING SUNDAY'S OPPONENT
With a three-score average of 382.017, Illinois-Chicago is ranked 18th in the national standings. The Flames are coming off of a first-place finish at the Midwest Open on March 4, when UIC scored a season-best 387.700 to defeat club programs from Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
AIR FORCE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Falcons are ranked ninth in the NCAA with a three-score average of 407.533. As a team, Air Force is ranked among the nation's top five on the vault (fifth, 69.533) and holds top-10 marks on the pommel horse (sixth, 68.367) and parallel bars (ninth, 68.167). Individually, Tim Wang is listed among the top-five on the pommel horse (fourth, 14.817) and all-around (fifth, 84.367), while holding top-10 marks on the vault (seventh, 14.817) and still rings (eighth, 14.733).
WANG NAMED MPSF GYMNAST OF THE WEEK
After a stellar weekend of competition in California, Tim Wang was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week on March 7. The senior captured event titles on the pommel horse (14.700), still rings (14.150), vault (14.650) and all-around (84.200) at the Cal Benefit Cup, while posting a career-best 14.350 to finish second on the floor exercise.
FALCONS CLAIM FIRST-EVER WIN OVER CAL
Air Force captured its first victory over California on March 4, when it defeated the Bears by a 403.900-395.750 margin. The Falcons, who entered the meet with a 0-40 lifetime margin against Cal, accounted for event titles from Tim Wang (pommel horse, still rings, vault) and Casey Branin (parallel bars) and earned their first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in recent history.
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE FALCONS
The Falcons close out the regular season next week, when they host Navy on Friday, March 17.
Players Mentioned
