Air Force Academy

Jan. 21, 2009

The Air Force men's and women's swimming and diving teams compete in their final road duals of the season this weekend, Jan. 23-24. The Falcons visit BYU on Friday with a 5:00 p.m. contest, while heading to Utah on Saturday at noon.

Last Time Out...
Last weekend, the Air Force men's and women's swimming and diving teams were swept by UNLV and Denver, while the women posted a 137-103 victory over Northern Colorado.

Against UNLV, senior Kai Yamashiro (100 back) and sophomore Benjamin Gunn (200 IM) each posted individual victories to lead the men's swimmers, while junior Kyle Van Valkenburg swept the diving events. On the women's side, senior Jane Hwang and freshman Katharine Ernst were the top performers for the Falcons, each posting second-best marks in a pair of events. Hwang finished second in the 100 freestyle and posted the second-fastest mark in the 200 IM, while Ernst was the runner-up in the 200 fly and had the second-best time in the 100 fly.

Against Denver, Yamashiro posted a win for the second-straight day, finishing first in the 200 backstroke, while sophomore Robert Dawson added a first-place finish in the 50 free. Freshman diver Lauren Shetley led the Air Force women in their meet against Denver and Northern Colorado, winning both diving events.

Scouting the Falcon Men...
The Air Force men's swimming and diving team enters this weekend with a 7-9 dual record and 1-1 mark in the MWC. The Falcons have six 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.

For the divers, juniors David Arlington and Kyle Van Valkenburg rank fourth and fifth, respectively, among MWC divers on the 1-meter springboard. In addition, Van Valkenburg holds the top score in the platform dive.

Scouting the Falcon Women...
The Air Force women's swimming and diving team enters this weekend's meets with a 6-11 dual record and 0-5 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. Three other swimmers rank among the top 15 in the MWC in their respective events, as well. Sophomores Betsy Scarberry and Kaeli Kluesner are rated 14th in the 1650 free and 400 IM, respectively, while freshman Alison Ceranski ranks 15th in the 50 free.

Scouting the Cougar Men...
The BYU men's swimming and diving team enters this weekend's meet with a 4-3 overall record and 1-0 ledger in the MWC.

The Cougars have six swimmers who rank in the top five in the MWC in their respective events, including Gregor Greiner, who holds the fastest time in the league in the 100 freestyle. Jacoby Jacobsen is tied for fourth in the 100 backstroke and ranks fifth in the 100 back, while John Kendrick ranks fourth in the 1000 free and fifth in the 200 free. Christian Keil is tied for fourth in the 50 freestyle, while Vytenis Slenys and Douglas Broadbent rank fourth in the 100 breaststroke and 100 butterfly, respectively.

In addition, Rob Morris is rated third in the MWC in the 1-meter dive, while Sam Hatch ranks fourth at 3-meters.

Scouting the Cougar Women...
The BYU women's swimming team enters this weekend's meet with a 14-1 overall record and 5-0 mark in the MWC.

The Cougars have 11 swimmers who rank in the top 10 in the MWC. Among the top performers are sophomore Rachel Grant, who leads the league in the 400 IM and ranks second in the 200 IM, while also rating in the top five in both the 100 and 200 butterfly. Natasha Menezes holds the fastest time in the MWC in the 1650 free and is second in the 500 free, while Candice Smith leads the league in the 200 back and ranks third in the 100 back.

In addition, diver Tawni Jones ranks third in the league in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.

Scouting the Ute Men...
The Utah men's swimming and diving team currently holds an 0-6 overall record and 0-2 ledger in the MWC. The Utes will host Wyoming before taking on Air Force Saturday.

The Utes have 10 swimmers who rank in the top five in the MWC in their respective events, including four league-leaders. Marco Ferraro holds the fastest time in the 200 freestyle, Adam Oliver is first in the 500 free, Michel DeCarolis ranks first in the 100 breaststroke and Major Robinson holds the top time in the 200 backstroke. Oliver also ranks second in both the 1000 free and 1650 free and fifth in the 400 IM. DeCarolis and Robinson rank second in the 200 breast and 100 back, respectively, while Ferraro ranks fourth in the 500 free.

Scouting the Ute Women...
The Utah women's swimming and diving team currently holds a 9-1-1 overall record and 3-1-1 ledger in the MWC. The Utes will host Wyoming before taking on Air Force Saturday.

The Utes have 10 swimmers who rank in the top five in the MWC in their respective events, including five who lead the conference. Freshman Whitney Lopus is among the team leaders, holding the league's fastest mark in four events--the 200 and 500 freestyle events and both the 100 and 200 butterfly--while also ranking second in the 1000 free. Natalie Edge ranks first in both the 50 and 100 free, Annie Vanleeuwen holds the top time in the 100 breast and Maiya Otsuka is first in the 200 breast. In addition, Hannah Caron holds the fastest time in the 200 IM while ranking second in both the 100 and 200 butterfly.

For the divers, senior Anna Braskiewicz has the second-best mark in the league in the 1-meter dive and is fourth at 3-meters.

Air Force Athlete of the Week...
Junior Kyle Van Valkenburg was named the Air Force Athlete of the Week on Jan. 19, for his performance against UNLV and Denver.

Van Valkenburg captured first place in both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard diving events against UNLV. His zone-qualifying mark of 314.25 at 1-meter against the Rebels was a season high. Meanwhile, against Denver, Van Valkenburg was the top scorer for Air Force on the 1-meter board, placing third, while also finishing fourth at 3-meters.

Up Next...
The Falcon swimmers are off next week, while the divers host the annual Air Force Diving Invitational, to be held Jan. 30-31, at the Cadet Natatorium.

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