Friday, January 24
USAFA, Colo.
7:00 PM MT
Air Force Academy
195.225
vs
195.200
Utah State
Women’s Gymnastics Scores 195.225 in Win over Utah State
1/24/2025 10:50:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Air Force Women's Gymnastics took a major step forward on Friday night, as the Falcons earned a win in their Mountain West debut, closing out Utah State by just over two-hundredths of a point.
The Falcons' emphasis improving on vault paid dividends in a huge way on Friday night, as Air Force, opening on the event, scored a 48.900 – good for the third-best team vault score in the program's history, and best finish since the 2019 season. Three Falcons - Sarah Willis, Kylee Greene, and Olivia Raife – earned a 9.725, marking a season/career best for Raife and Greene's best judgement on the event since her freshman season on just her third vault showing since the 2023 season. Air Force finished putting a stamp on its vault performance, as Slife, the two-time Mountain West Gymnast of the Week, earned her second 9.800 on vault in as many weeks to finish in fourth.
Bigler, anchoring the Falcons as their final competitor on vault, stuck a huge Yurchenco half twist to score a 9.925 – Good to tie Air Force's all-time top vault score set by Jessica Wallander in 2013, and earning the Falcons' first 9.900 or better in the event since Slife's 9.900 on March 17 of last season. Bigler's 9.925 would stand as the high score of the night.
On bars, Air Force finished with a 48.775 to notch another season best, led by another big performance for Bigler, as the freshman stuck another landing on a strong, confident routine to score a 9.850, finishing with another top score while tying the Falcons' season best finish to date. Slife scored a 9.825, earning her 15th-straight 9.800 or better on bars. Freshman Anna Kristianson, in just her second career showing, landed a 9.800 of her own.
After just trailing Utah State after the opening two events, Air Force claimed a four-hundredths lead in the meet after setting the teams' third season mark, scoring a 48.925 on balance beam. Slife matched the team's individual season high (9.850) set by Kylee Greene in the Falcons season debut, with Greene, junior Velandra Brochi and freshman Nhi Nguyen – competing for just the second time in her early Falcon career – each earning a 9.775 to tie for fifth. Bigler finished with a 9.750 to reset her new career best on beam by .175.
Freshman Anna Bacott, competing in exhibition after spending the week contending with an illness, landed a 9.875 to tie the top score of the evening on the event.
Air Force, entering the final leg of Friday's competition in a dead heat with the Aggies, closed on floor scoring just a 48.625 as a team, but Slife, the final competitor of the evening, clinched the victory for Air Force, as the Falcons' anchor put up a 9.900 to finish in first place and secure the Falcons' razor-thin, 195.225-195.200 win over Utah State.
Slife and Bigler, the only two all-arounders of the evening, both challenged one another for the all-around title on Friday, finishing in first place in three events, but it was Slife once again claiming the crown, scoring a 39.375 to Bigler's 39.300.
Head Coach Jennifer Green on tonight's result and her Falcons' resolve:
"What an incredible evening! It was a highly competitive meet - Lots of energy, the crowd was amazing and it came down to the last routines. It ended up being a hard-fought win against a strong competitive team that took a total team effort.
"I couldn't ask for more from our team right now! They are bringing the energy to practice and focusing on the little things, and that's what tipped the scale for us tonight.
"The team chemistry was electric and had a positive impact on our performance. You would never know that basically the entire team had the flu all week! This is an exceptional group of young ladies, and I'm really excited for what the rest of this season will bring for us!"
Up Next:
Air Force Women's Gymnastics is back in Cadet West Gym on Friday, Jan. 31, hosting San Jose State and Hamline University at 7 p.m. MT.
The Falcons' emphasis improving on vault paid dividends in a huge way on Friday night, as Air Force, opening on the event, scored a 48.900 – good for the third-best team vault score in the program's history, and best finish since the 2019 season. Three Falcons - Sarah Willis, Kylee Greene, and Olivia Raife – earned a 9.725, marking a season/career best for Raife and Greene's best judgement on the event since her freshman season on just her third vault showing since the 2023 season. Air Force finished putting a stamp on its vault performance, as Slife, the two-time Mountain West Gymnast of the Week, earned her second 9.800 on vault in as many weeks to finish in fourth.
Bigler, anchoring the Falcons as their final competitor on vault, stuck a huge Yurchenco half twist to score a 9.925 – Good to tie Air Force's all-time top vault score set by Jessica Wallander in 2013, and earning the Falcons' first 9.900 or better in the event since Slife's 9.900 on March 17 of last season. Bigler's 9.925 would stand as the high score of the night.
On bars, Air Force finished with a 48.775 to notch another season best, led by another big performance for Bigler, as the freshman stuck another landing on a strong, confident routine to score a 9.850, finishing with another top score while tying the Falcons' season best finish to date. Slife scored a 9.825, earning her 15th-straight 9.800 or better on bars. Freshman Anna Kristianson, in just her second career showing, landed a 9.800 of her own.
After just trailing Utah State after the opening two events, Air Force claimed a four-hundredths lead in the meet after setting the teams' third season mark, scoring a 48.925 on balance beam. Slife matched the team's individual season high (9.850) set by Kylee Greene in the Falcons season debut, with Greene, junior Velandra Brochi and freshman Nhi Nguyen – competing for just the second time in her early Falcon career – each earning a 9.775 to tie for fifth. Bigler finished with a 9.750 to reset her new career best on beam by .175.
Freshman Anna Bacott, competing in exhibition after spending the week contending with an illness, landed a 9.875 to tie the top score of the evening on the event.
Air Force, entering the final leg of Friday's competition in a dead heat with the Aggies, closed on floor scoring just a 48.625 as a team, but Slife, the final competitor of the evening, clinched the victory for Air Force, as the Falcons' anchor put up a 9.900 to finish in first place and secure the Falcons' razor-thin, 195.225-195.200 win over Utah State.
Slife and Bigler, the only two all-arounders of the evening, both challenged one another for the all-around title on Friday, finishing in first place in three events, but it was Slife once again claiming the crown, scoring a 39.375 to Bigler's 39.300.
Head Coach Jennifer Green on tonight's result and her Falcons' resolve:
"What an incredible evening! It was a highly competitive meet - Lots of energy, the crowd was amazing and it came down to the last routines. It ended up being a hard-fought win against a strong competitive team that took a total team effort.
"I couldn't ask for more from our team right now! They are bringing the energy to practice and focusing on the little things, and that's what tipped the scale for us tonight.
"The team chemistry was electric and had a positive impact on our performance. You would never know that basically the entire team had the flu all week! This is an exceptional group of young ladies, and I'm really excited for what the rest of this season will bring for us!"
Up Next:
Air Force Women's Gymnastics is back in Cadet West Gym on Friday, Jan. 31, hosting San Jose State and Hamline University at 7 p.m. MT.
Players Mentioned
AA
/ Women's Gymnastics
AA
/ Women's Gymnastics
AA
/ Women's Gymnastics
V, UB, FX
/ Women's Gymnastics
AA
/ Women's Gymnastics
AA
/ Women's Gymnastics
AA
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