Air Force Academy

Nov. 18, 2009

The Air Force men's and women's swimming and diving teams will conclude the fall semester this week with three separate events. The men's swimmers will head to the Toshiba Classic, formerly known as the Nike Cup, Nov. 19-21 in Long Beach, Calif. The women's swimmers travel to Houston, Texas, for the Cougar Classic Fall Invitational, Nov. 20-22, while the diving team visits Tuscon, Ariz., Nov. 20-22, for the Arizona Diving Invitational.

Last Time Out...
The Air Force men's and women's swimming and diving teams both picked up wins against Mesa State in dual action on Oct. 30, with the men registering a 162-95 win, while the women notched a 157-128 decision. The Falcon men were winners in all 16 events, while the women posted top marks in 12 of the 16 events.

In addition, the divers competed at the Trojan Diving Invitational, hosted by USC, Nov. 6-7. Senior Kyle Van Valkenburg led the way, finishing fifth on the men's platform, while placing ninth on both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards. Meanwhile, classmate David Arlington added an eighth-place finish at 3-meters.

About the Toshiba Classic...
The 2009 Toshiba Classic, hosted by UC San Diego, will be held Nov. 19-21 at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach, Calif. Preliminaries will begin each day at 9:00 a.m. (PT), while finals are slated to begin nightly at 6:00.

Twenty-four women's teams and 14 men's teams, including 2009 NCAA third-place finisher Stanford, are slated to compete at the Toshiba Classic this weekend. Other men's teams scheduled to appear at this week's invitational are Air Force, BYU, Cal Baptist, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Northridge, Chapman, Hawaii, La Verne, Seattle, Soka, host UC San Diego, Utah and Vanguard.

Thursday's events include the 200 freestyle relay, 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 freestyle and 400 medley relay. Friday will feature the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 800 freestyle relay. The final day of action will include the 1650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle relay.

About the Cougar Classic...
The Cougar Classic Fall Invitational, hosted by Houston, will take place Nov. 20-22 at the University of Houston Campus Recreation and Wellness Center (CRWC). Preliminaries will start each day at 10:00 a.m. (CT), with the finals starting at 6:00 p.m., on Friday and Saturday, and at 4:30 p.m., on Sunday.

Among the teams slated to compete in this weekend's event are Air Force, host Houston, LSU, SMU and Tulane.

Friday's events include the 200 freestyle relay, 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 freestyle and 400 medley relay. Saturday will feature the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 800 freestyle relay. The final day of action will include the 1650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle relay.

Scouting the Falcon Women...
Eight women's swimmers rank in the top 15 in the Mountain West Conference in their respective events, led by freshman Rachel Roberts, who holds the seventh-fastest time in the league in the 1650 free. Also holding top marks in the 1650 free are fellow freshmen Alexandra Trobe (11th) and Kelsey Pilcher (12th). Classmate Haley Holcombe currently holds the 10th-fastest time in the 400 IM, followed by junior Kaeli Kluesner (11th), senior Becky Gleason (12th) and sophomore Katharine Ernst (15th). Ernst has also posted the 14th-fastest time in the MWC in the 100 butterfly, while sophomore Cassie Fletcher is rated 13th in the 50 free.

About the Wildcat Diving Invitational...
The second-annual Wildcat Diving Invitational, hosted by Arizona, will take place Nov. 20-22 at Kasser Family Pool. Events are slated to take place from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (PT) on Friday and Saturday and from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Included among the 14 teams scheduled to compete this weekend are Air Force, host Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Nevada, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, Stanford, UNLV and Wisconsin.

The invitational will be a championship-style meet with a consolation round. The top eight finishers in the preliminaries will advance to the finals, while finishers 9-16 will compete in the consolation finals. Platform diving is scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. and is one list of dives only.

Scouting the Falcon Divers...
Air Force has several of the top divers in the conference on its roster, including seniors David Arlington and Kyle Van Valkenburg. Arlington holds the second-highest mark in the league on the 3-meter board, while Van Valkenburg is rated third in the event. Van Valkenburg, the two-time defending MWC champion on the platform, also leads the conference in that event. Meanwhile, sophomore Jesse Bicknell owns the fourth-best mark in the MWC on the men's 1-meter board and has the fifth-best score at 3-meters. In addition, Chelsea Tompkins, a returning all-conference performer on the platform, will represent the Air Force women.

Getting to 100...
With the Falcons' 162-95 win over Mesa State on Oct. 30, Air Force men's head coach Rob Clayton captured the 100th dual victory of his career. In his 12th season at the helm of the Falcons' program, Clayton currently holds a 100-53 career record.

Up Next...
The Falcons have the rest of the semester off, but will return to action Jan. 2 to wrap up their winter training. The swimmers will take part in the Florida International Relays, while the divers return to Tucson, Ariz.

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