Women’s gymnastics closes dual at Sacramento State with 195.350 finish

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Air Force women's gymnastics team put the pieces together on Friday night at Sacramento State, closing the Falcons' dual with a 195.350 – Scoring the program's ninth-best all-time finish and earning their first 195 final score of 2024 to set a new season-best.

Air Force opened its evening at The Hive in resounding fashion, scoring a 49.400 on uneven bars, eclipsing the all-time program record by a tenth, set at USAG Nationals in 2014. All five counted scores either reset or match career marks, with Slife leading the pack to earn a second-place 9.950, tying the all-time Falcon individual score in the event (Anna Salamone, 2019). Ayla McKean and Madison Carlisle both logged a 9.900 to tie for third, both earning their first 9.900s on bars and resetting career highs along the way. Freshman Clara Wallace and Velandra Brochi both tallied a 9.825, earning Wallace a new career mark and Brochi tying hers.

The Falcons, moving onto vault, built upon their steady rise on the apparatus in 2024, earning a season-best 48.575 and improving as a team for the fifth consecutive week. Slife, again topping Falcon scores, led the way with a 9.800, logging Air Force's second-highest individual score on vault, falling just five-hundredths shy of the 9.850 she earned on Feb. 9 in the Falcons' tri against the Hornets and Southeastern Missouri State. Gabriella Meccia followed up, earning a 9.750 to tie her career/season best, and Sarah Willis ended with a 9.725 to score her second highest finish this year.

On floor exercise, Air Force finished as a team with a 49.125, tying its season-best and earning its third 49 or better this season – doing so for just the second time in a season since 2003. Slife's fourth-place 9.900 set the Falcons' second 9.900 or better on the apparatus this season and netted her a new career best. Meccia scored a 9.875 to earn her second-best career mark and to give her two of the Falcons' top three individual scores this season. McKean, scoring a 9.825, cleared her previous season high to earn her best finish since the 2022 season.

Closing on beam, Air Force earned a 48.250, led my McKean's 9.850 to earn a share of second place. Wallace and Brochi both scored 9.825, each setting a season high.

Coach Green on the Evening's Results:
"Wow, what a bar rotation. Incredible way to begin the meet. We were solid on vault and floor. We had some uncharacteristic mistakes on balance beam. Still so proud of how athletes handled themselves with the mistakes and how others stepped up and came up huge after. We are figuring things out and it's starting to come together."

Up Next:
The Falcons return to the Academy to honor their 2024 graduates on Senior Night, set for March 1 at 7 p.m., before hosting San Jose State and Utah State in the Cadet Gym.

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