March 3, 2010
The No. 14 Air Force men's gymnastics team returns to the Academy this weekend for its final two home competitions of the regular season. The Falcons will host second-ranked Stanford and No. 12 Illinois-Chicago on Friday, March 5, at 7 p.m., before returning for a dual meet with UIC on Sunday, March 7, at 1 p.m. Both matches will take place in the Cadet West Gym.
Meet Notes 07: vs. No. 2 Stanford, No. 12 Illinois-Chicago (Mar. 5); vs. No. 12 Illinois-Chicago (Mar. 7) 
ILLINOIS-CHICAGO AT A GLANCE
Illinois-Chicago holds a three-score average of 338.533 to rank 12th in the national standings. The Flames are ranked in the top-10 (ninth) on the pommel horse, with an average of 54.750. UIC is coming off of a 351.300-337.200 loss to Illinois on Saturday. Five Flames are ranked in the top-20 national rankings. This will be the second time that Air Force has faced Illinois-Chicago this season, dropping a 339.950-332.700 decision at the Nebraska Quad Meet.
STANFORD AT A GLANCE
Stanford is currently ranked second in the nation, with a three-score average of 356.117 . As a team, the Cardinal are ranked among the nation's top five in every event, including a pair of leading marks on the still rings (59.883) and vault (63.850). Last weekend, Stanford (7-0) scored a NCAA-best team score of 361.400 in a defeat of top-ranked Michigan. Tim Gentry leads the Cardinal, ranked second in the nation on both the still rings and vault.
SENIOR SALUTE
During Sunday's meet, Air Force will honor its senior co-captains Garrett Canter and Brennan Wolford, who will be competing in their final regular season home meet. Canter and Wolford have been vital members of the Air Force men's gymnastics team for all four years.
RANK YOU VERY MUCH
Individually, in the March 1 rankings based on the new three-score ranking system, junior Nash Mills is ranked 15th in the all-around with an average of 82.833 and 14th on the parallel bars with a 14.400 average.
FALCONS SOAR AT ARIZONA STATE
Backed by five first-place finishes, one Academy record and nine career-best scores, the Falcons tallied a season-high 335.900 to defeat Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz., on Feb. 26. As a squad, Air Force posted season-high marks on the floor exercise (56.100), pommel horse (52.700), still rings (58.200) and parallel bars (55.000), en route to the season-high team total that bettered their previous score by over three points.
PLAYING WITH THE (SUN) DEVILS
Claiming three first-place finishes and matching one Academy record, Nash Mills had a career-best night in the Falcons' victory over Arizona State on Feb. 26. The junior matched the program standard on the parallel bars, winning the event with a score of 14.900. He also used a season-best performance of 13.800 to tie for first on the high bars, while claiming the outright all-around with a personal-best score of 86.300. Finishing within the top four of every event, Mills also recorded personal-best scores on the pommel horse (13.550) and still rings (14. 800.
DID YOU KNOW?
With his Academy record of 14.900 in a winning effort on the parallel bars, Nash Mills defeated the rest of the field by one whole point.
I'LL TAKE TWO...
Sophomore Devin Menefee picked up a pair of event titles on the still rings. He recorded a career-best score of 14.850 on the still rings, while tallying a season-high mark of 15.800 on the vault. In addition to his two event titles, Menefee upped his personal-best mark on the floor exercise to 13.850.
GOING BY CLASS
At Arizona State, freshman Travis Langham placed third on the floor exercise and vault, while sophomore Joel Uptmor finishing third on the high bar. Junior Dan Klimkowski placed third on the still rings and senior Garrett Canter picked up a third-place spot on the parallel bars.
MOVING IN AND MOVING UP
Since the new scoring system went into effect prior to the 2008 season, only four Falcons had cracked the program's top-20 list in the still rings, the most recent being Devin Menefee last season. However, following the Feb. 26 meet, two Falcons moved onto the list, while Menefee moved up to 13th with a score of 14.850. Nash Mills tied for the 14th with a tally of 14.800, while Dan Klimkowski debuted on the list in a tie for 19th with a score of 14.550.
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE FALCONS
The Falcons head to the East Coast for a pair of meets during the March 12-14 weekend. The Falcons will visit service academy rival Army on Friday, March 12 in West Point, N.Y., before traveling to Springfield, Mass., for a dual meet with Springfield College on Sunday, March 14.
