Air Force Wins Four Events in Regular-Season Finale

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- The Air Force men's gymnastics team nabbed four event titles and went 1-2 in the all-around on Friday (March 14) night, as it wrapped up the regular season with a second-place, 307.850 finish against Army West Point and Simpson on the Black Knights' home floor in New York.

Senior Erich Upton paced the Falcons' lineup with the highest scores of the meet on the floor exercise (career-best 14.050) and all-around (79.600), while tying for first on the parallel bars with teammate Charlie Miles (13.350). Junior Tai Gopaul garnered a career-high 13.350 to win the high bar, while classmate Jack Matlock tied for the top spot on the pommel horse behind a score of 14.000 to round out the Falcons' list of event winners.

In addition to his collection of first-place finishes, Upton added runner-up scores on both the still rings (12.950) and vault (14.000) – leading Air Force to two of the top-three finishes on the latter, as freshman Jared Fry scored a career-high 13.850 to take third in that event.

Gopaul and Upton also picked up fourth-place scores on the parallel bars (13.100) and high bar (12.800), respectively, while Fry added a sixth-place finish on the floor exercise (13.150) and tallied a 75.750 to take second in his first collegiate all-around. Fellow freshmen Christopher Noguera and Jack Foltyn also placed within the top half of the field on Friday, as Noguera finished sixth in his pommel horse debut (12.600) and Foltyn earned the same placement on the vault (13.600). Junior Denis Irimiea rounded out the Falcons' list of top-six finishers with a fifth-place tally of 11.900 on the still rings.

Testing some new lineups, the Falcons – listed 13th in the latest national rankings, combined for a 307.850 to take second in a triangular meet that included No. 12 Army (311.450) and No. 15 Simpson (295.400).

While senior Patrick Hoopes will travel to Antalya, Turkey, next week to represent Team USA at his second FIG Apparatus World Cup event of the year, the full Air Force squad will be back in action on March 28-29, when they head to Annapolis, Md., to open the championship portion of the season at the annual USAG Collegiate Nationals.

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