No. 11 Air Force Heads to No. 10 Cal for First MPSF Dual

The 11th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team heads out on the road this weekend, when it travels to 10th-ranked California for its first dual meet of the year on Saturday, Jan. 18. The two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponents will face off at 4:00 p.m. (PT) inside Haas Pavilion on the Berkeley campus.

MEET INFORMATION
Admission is free for the Falcons' conference dual with Cal, but the meet will not be streamed.

LET'S MEET THE OPPONENT
The Bears are currently ranked 10th in the NCAA after scoring a 382.850 during their season-opening loss to top-ranked Stanford (407.300) on Jan. 11 at the Cal Benefit Cup. After one weekend, they are listed among the nation's top 10 on the parallel bars (63.850, seventh tie) and high bar (62.600, eighth tie).

VALENTIN QUALIFIES FOR WINTER CUP
Backed by his performance in the all-around at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 11, Frankie Valentin qualified for the prestigious Winter Cup Challenge in mid-February. In his first collegiate all-around, Valentin scored a 78.550 to finish fourth amongst collegiate athletes – and sixth in the overall field that included members of the U.S. Olympic Training Center Team.

DID YOU KNOW?
Frankie Valentin is the 14th different Falcon to earn an invitation to the Winter Cup Challenge since 2004, joining Jeff Anderson (2004), Denis Aurelius (2015), Tory Brown (2010, 2011, 2012), Gared Chapman (2013, 2015), Nick Gaudlip (2014, 2015), Nash Mills (2010, 2011, 2012), James Okamoto (2011), Mac Ritchie (2013), Chris Stephenson (2014), Greg Stine (2007), Joel Uptmor (2010) and Tim Wang (2014, 2016, 2017).

ON THE SIDELINES
Josh Loeser is in his first season as the head coach of the Air Force men's gymnastics team. Loeser, who previously served as an assistant coach for the Falcons during the 2013-17 seasons and spent the past two years as an assistant for the men's resident program at the USOTC, is a four-time USAG Assistant Coach of the Year. He is joined on the sidelines by first-year assistant Sergey Resnick and military assistant Capt Josiah Loeser, who previously served alongside his brother during the 2016-17 seasons.

LEADING THE WAY
Zach Polen will serve as the team captain for the 2020 season.

WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE FALCONS
Air Force returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 1, when it hosts Penn State at the Academy's Cadet West Gym.

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