Falcons Net Season-High in Win over William & Mary

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The 14th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team closed out the regular season with a 386.250-381.050 victory over 12th-ranked William & Mary this evening (March 27) during a virtual meet at the Academy. Senior Frankie Valentin had a strong night at Cadet West Gym, claiming four event titles and earning his first 80-point score in the all-around (80.300) in a winning effort.

The senior improved his career all-around score by nearly two points, as he tallied season-best marks en route to victories in the pommel horse (13.200), still rings (13.800), parallel bars (career-best matching 13.250) and high bar (13.450).

Valentin paced the Falcons to a sweep of the top three finishes on the rings – and four of the top five scores on that event, as Air Force combined for a season-high 65.500. Classmate Allen Shadan and freshman Oliver Zavel tied for second with matching marks of 13.150 – a career high for Zavel, while freshman Garrett Braunton placed fifth with a score of 12.850.

Zavel, who earned the Falcons' top finish on the floor exercise (second, career high 13.550), joined Valentin in the top half of the field on the parallel bars and high bar after recording tallies of 12.850 on both events. With that score, the freshman tied for third with Shadan on the parallel bars and added a fourth-place finish on the high bar.

Senior Brandon Bzoskie rounded out the Falcons' event winners, as he scored a 14.350 – a mark just 0.050 shy of his career high – to win the vault and lead the Falcons to four of the top-five scores on that event. Valentin scored a 13.800 to finish third, while Braunton and junior Beckett Andersen tied for fourth with matching marks of 13.700 – a personal-best mark for Andersen in his season debut.

Junior Noah Everett and freshman Jacob Becchetti finished third (12.900) and fourth (12.450), respectively, on the pommel horse, while junior Collin Hickey earned a third-place score of 13.300 on the floor exercise and classmate Alex Schechtman tallied a season-best 12.600 to round out the Falcons' list of top-five finishers on the high bar (fifth).

Air Force returns to in-person meets next weekend, when its welcomes its conference counterparts to the Academy for the annual Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships on Saturday, April 3.

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