Air Force Academy

Jan. 14, 2009

The Air Force men's and women's swimming and diving teams host two meets this weekend, Jan. 16-17. The Falcons first take on conference rival UNLV Friday at 4:00 p.m. Then, Air Force hosts in-state rivals Denver and Northern Colorado Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

Last Time Out...
The Air Force men's and women's swimming and diving teams swept visiting Incarnate Word last weekend. The men posted a 134-103 win over the Cardinals, while the women picked up a 147-92 victory.

Sophomore Robert Dawson led the men's swimmers with a pair of victories in the 50 free and 100 freestyle events, while junior David Arlington led an Air Force sweep in the diving events, winning both on both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard. Meanwhile, senior Jane Hwang and sophomore Kaeli Kluesner paced the women with two individual victories each. Hwang captured first place in both the 200 breast and 200 free, while Kluesner won the 200 IM and the 200 back.

Scouting the Falcon Men...
The Air Force men's swimming team enters this weekend with a 7-7 dual record and 1-0 mark in the MWC. The Falcons have seven swimmers who rank in the top five in the Mountain West Conference in their respective events, led by senior captain Bryan Avery, who holds the conference's fastest time in the 200 IM, while also ranking second in the 200 freestyle.

Sophomore Benjamin Gunn ranks second in both the 200 IM and 100 butterfly and third in the 200 fly. Senior Kai Yamashiro holds the second-fastest time in the MWC in the 200 backstroke. Junior Sean O'Keefe ranks fourth in both the 500 and 1650 freestyle events, while sophomore Tom Hansen rates fifth in the league in the 1650 free. In the 200 breaststroke, senior Spencer Butt holds the fourth-fastest time in the league, while sophomore Josh Hammervold has the fifth-fastest mark.

Scouting the Falcon Women...
The Air Force women's swimming team enters this week's meets with a 5-9 dual record and 0-4 mark in the Mountain West Conference. The Falcons are led by senior captain Jane Hwang, who ranks seventh in the MWC in the 200 IM and 12th in the 100 freestyle. Two other swimmers rank among the top 15 in the MWC in their respective events, as well. Sophomore Betsy Scarberry is rated 14th in the 1650 free, while sophomore Kaeli Kluesner ranks 14th in the 400 IM.

For the divers, Ashleigh Peck's performance in the 1-meter dive against TCU ranks her 12th in the MWC. Meanwhile, junior Chelsea Tompkins holds the fourth-best score in the league in the platform dive.

Scouting the Rebels...
The UNLV men's swimming team comes into this week's meet with a 4-0 overall record and 3-0 ledger in the MWC.

The Rebels have 10 swimmers who rank in the top five in the MWC in their respective events, including five league-leaders. Nicholas Blank ranks first in the conference in both the 100 backstroke and 400 IM, John Mendoza has the top time in the 1000 free, Andrew Morrell is first in the 200 breaststroke, David Seiler ranks first in the 100 butterfly and Daniel Egly holds the fastest time in the 200 fly. UNLV also has three of the MWC's fastest sprinters in Steven Nelms, Thomas Andolfsson and Calan Eldredge.

Scouting the Lady Rebels...
The UNLV women's swimming and diving team enters this week's competition with a 3-3 overall record and 2-3 mark in the Mountain West.

The Lady Rebels have 14 swimmers who rank in the top 10 in the MWC. Freshman Zsuzsanna Jakabos is among the team leaders, holding the league's fastest mark in both the 200 butterfly and 400 IM, while also ranking in the top 10 in the 50 free, 100 back and 100 fly. Two other UNLV swimmers--senior Bailey Kuestermeyer (500 free, 1000 free, 1650 free, 400 IM) and Ana Dangalakova (200 back, 200 fly, 200 IM, 400 IM)--each rank in the top 10 of four different events. The Lady Rebels also own five of the MWC's top 10 spots in the 400 IM.

Scouting the Pioneers...
The Denver men's swimming and diving team enters this weekend's tri-meet with a 5-1 overall record, while the Pioneer women hold a 3-3 dual record on the year.

Among the top performers for the Pioneer men are swimmer Blake Worsley and diver Aaron Feight, both returning All-Americans. For the women, Jackie Leung is one of the top performers, leading DU in the 500 free, 1650 free and 400 IM.

Scouting the Bears...
The Northern Colorado women's swimming and diving team holds a 1-8 overall record and will host New Mexico State before Saturday's meet at the Academy.

The Bears are led by sophomore Tori Gutt, who holds UNC's top times in five events (500 free, 100 breast, 200 breast, 200 IM, 400 IM).

Up Next...
The Falcons are on the road for their next two meets, visiting conference rivals BYU and Utah, Jan. 23-24.

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