Falcons Set to Wrap Regular Season at Home

The 11th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team closes out the regular season this Saturday (March 19), when it hosts fifth-ranked Illinois, eighth-ranked Navy and the Rocky Mountain Pride club team at Cadet East Gym.

MEET INFORMATION
The Falcons' quadrangular meet with the Fighting Illini, Midshipmen, and Pride will take place at 1:00 p.m. (MT) inside Cadet West Gym. Admission is free. Live results will be available via StatBroadcast, while links to the live broadcast can be found on GoAirForceFalcons.com.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Illinois is ranked fifth in the NCAA with a four-score average of 401.217, while Navy is ranked eighth with a 391.732 average. The Illini hold the No. 3 listing in three events - pommel horse (66.400), vault (71.700) and high bar (66.250), while Navy' top event placement is a sixth-place average 66.183 on the still rings. Three members of the Illinois team are ranked among the NCAA Top 5 of their events, with Hamish Carter leading the trio with a No. 3 ranking on the high bar. Navy also has a gymnast ranked among the country's Top 3, as Josh Williams is ranked third on the still rings. Rocky Mountain Pride, a member of the GymACT club circuit, has not competed in enough meets to maintain a four-score average in their national standings.

AIR FORCE IN THE RANKINGS
With a four-score average of 379.133, Air Force is ranked 11th in the latest NCAA standings. The Falcons held their team position among the nation's Top 10 on the parallel bars (ninth, 63.917) and pommel horse (10th, 62.317), while Garrett Braunton moved into the Top 20on the still rings with a four-score average of 13.467 (19th).

WHAT. A. DAY.
Setting two program standards and improving its seasonal score by more than 18 points, Air Force defeated service academy rival Army West Point 398.800-387.500 during a triangular meet on March 12 that also included Nebraska (410.500). The Falcons, who tallied their highest team tally since 2019, recorded the first 70-point floor performance in Academy history (program-best 70.250) and equaled the program record of 71.350 on the vault.

LEAVING IT ALL ON THE FLOOR
The Falcons kicked off the March 12 meet with an Academy Record 70.250 on the floor exercise – the first 70-point performance in program history. Oliver Zavel led the way for Air Force, as he improved his career best by nearly a point to 14.450 – the second-highest floor score in Air Force history. Collin Hickey equaled the Academy's sixth-best tally with a career-high 14.250, while Erich Upton added nearly a point to his previous best to debut in ninth on the program's all-time standings with a 14.100. Jake Sampier also reached the 14-point plateau in the meet, as he tallied a career-high 14.000 to move into No. 11 on the Academy's all-time list.

WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE FALCONS
Air Force kicks off the championship season next weekend (March 25-26), when it travels to Annapolis, Md., for the 2022 USA Gymnastics Collegiate Nationals. The first USAG meet since 2019 will include the Team finals on Friday, March 25, and the Event finals on Saturday, March 26.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Garrett Braunton

Collin Hickey

Jake Sampier

Erich Upton

Oliver Zavel

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