Patrick Hoopes, Erich Upton Claim RMO Titles

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. -- Headlined by individual event titles from seniors Patrick Hoopes and Erich Upton, the 10th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team wrapped up a solid night of competition against the nation's elite on Saturday, Jan. 18, as it hosted the 45th-annual Rocky Mountain Open in front of sold-out crowd at the Academy's Cadet West Gym.

Hoopes registered an NCAA-leading 14.950 on his signature event to better the rest of the field by 0.700 points and claim the program's first RMO pommel horse title since 2011. Posting the meet's highest score of the night on any event, Hoopes led the Falcons to two of the top four finishes on the pommel horse, while seeing all four competitors place within the top half of the 31-gymnast event. Junior Jack Matlock added a season-high 13.900 to finish fourth, while Upton and junior Tai Gopaul finished 11th (season-best 12.900) and 13th (season-best 12.800), respectively.

Posting the Falcons' top score in four of the six events for combined 80-point total, Upton became the program's first RMO all-around champion of the modern era. After finishing 11th on the floor exercise with a score of 13.350, Upton registered season-high, team-leading marks on the still rings (13th, 13.340), vault (11th, 14.050) and high bar (12th, 12.950), while placing within the top half of the field on the pommel horse and adding a top-10 mark on the parallel bars (season-high 13.450).

Fellow senior Charlie Miles rounded out the Falcons' list of event leaders, as he scored a season-high 13.650 to finish fifth out of 29 athletes on the parallel bars.

Air Force saw three of its four competitors finish within the top half of the high bar lineup, as Upton paced Gopaul (season-high matching 12.750) and freshman Jared Fry (career-high 12.600) to a 12-13-14 finish. Fry, competing in his first meet at Cadet West Gym, also finished within the top 15 on the vault, as he scored another personal-best (13.550) to finish 13th.

The Falcons tallied a season-high 311.550 to finish fourth in their annual home opener. Stanford, winners of the last five NCAA titles, captured their second RMO title in three years with a score of 328.850, while Oklahoma, who entered the meet ranked No. 1 in the nation, finished second with a 327.200. Nebraska finished third (320.450) in their first competition of the year, while Air Force rounded out the top four. Simpson scored a 291.150 to finish fifth during their RMO debut, while Arizona State – the top-ranked team in the GymACT club division, finished sixth (285.750) and the Rocky Mountain Mavericks finished seventh (274.700).

The Falcons return to action on Saturday, Feb. 8, when they host California at Cadet West Gym. During the meet, Air Force will honor its four seniors – Hoopes, Miles, Upton and Bryan Woffinden.

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Players Mentioned

Jared Fry

Tai Gopaul

Patrick Hoopes

Jack Matlock

Charlie Miles

Erich Upton

Bryan Woffinden

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