Air Force Academy

Feb. 8, 2007

The Air Force women's gymnastics team kicks off a four-week road trip on Saturday, Feb. 10, when it travels to Columbus, Ohio, to take on No. 20 Ohio State. The Falcons and Buckeyes, who are both coming off narrow losses to conference foes, will meet at 7 p.m. (EST) at St. John Arena on the OSU campus.

Weekly Release 04 - at Ohio State
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SCOUTING THE FALCONS: Air Force dropped a pair of meets to competition from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation...a different Falcon accounts for the top average in every event...freshman Kayla Kincade leads the way with a 9.592 average on the balance beam...the Falcons begin a four-week road stretch of competitions...although Air Force is winless in dual-meet competition (0-3) this season, it has been inching closer to its opponent in every meet.

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES: Ohio State has been on the road for the last three weeks...most recently, OSU dropped a 194.950-194.000 decision to Illinois...they are currently ranked 20th in the national polls, with an average score of 193.931...Ohio State leads the Big 10 on the floor exercise, collecting an average score of 48.744...in their last meet at home on Jan. 13, the Buckeyes picked up a dual meet victory over Ball State...Maalika Moore-Thomas has at least a share of the team's top scores on all four event and the all-around.

FOLLOW ALONG AT HOME: Live scoring will be available for the Falcons' meet with the Buckeyes. Fans can visit ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com for more information.

HERE, THERE, AND EVERYWHERE: The Falcons begin a four-week excursion that will take them back and fourth across the country. Air Force opens its tour Feb. 10 against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, before heading to Davis, Calif., for a rematch with UCD on Feb. 16. The Falcons return to the Midwest on Feb. 25, as they take on Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, Mich., and round out the road-swing back with a tri-meet in California on March 9.

MOVING UP THE RANKINGS: Freshman Kayla Kincade has accumulated the third-best balance beam average in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Kincade, whose 9.592 average is backed by a season high 9.650, is the only Falcon to currently stand in the MPSF Top-Six Rankings.

MAKING IMPROVEMENT: Air Force continues to improve their scores as each week passes. Over the past weekend, all of the newcomers that competed set at least one career-best mark.

GET OUT THE BROOMS: Over the Falcons' first homestand, Kayla Kincade was the Falcons' lone event winner. Scoring a 9.500 on the balance beam, Kincade guided Air Force a near-sweep of the top three spots (UC-Davis' Marie Inouye, who filled in for an injured teammate, tied with Kincade for first-place honors.) Senior Christine Powers tallied a 9.350 to take second on the apparatus, while classmate Sashonna Iwaniec posted a score of 9.325 to take third.

HAPPY HOMECOMING: Pennsylvania natives Abigail Rogers and Sashonna Iwaniec had a stellar night in their homecoming. The duo tied for the team's best finish of the night, as they scored matching 9.575 marks on the floor exercise to tie for sixth. Rogers also posted a team-best 9.525 on the vault to finish eighth, while Iwaniec led the Falcons on the uneven bars behind an 11th-place score of 9.350. In addition, Iwaniec won the all-Air Force all-around with a score of 36.975, while Rogers finished a close second with 36.725 points.

ONE WEEK-ONE HONOR: Air Force freshman Michelle Denise was named Gymnast of the Week, by the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation for the week ending Jan. 15. Denise tallied the team's top scores on the vault (9.200) and floor (9.300), while accounting for the second-highest score on the uneven bars (9.200).

WELCOME TO THE SHOW: During the Falcons season-opening meet at Denver, a quartet of newcomers tied for the Falcons' top score on the vault. Freshmen Michelle Denise, Emily Darone and Kayla Kincade all scored a 9.200 on the apparatus to place seventh, along with sophomore newcomer Abigail Rogers.

BEHIND THE BENCH: The Falcons welcome first-year head coach Doug Day and first-year assistant coach Capt. Nelle Barriteau to the bench. Remaining with the program is Holly Tedeschi, who brings stability to the coaching staff, having spent seven seasons with the squad.

COMING UP: Up next for Air Force is a rematch with UC-Davis. The Falcons, who fell by a narrow .175 margin to the Aggies last week at the Academy, will travel to Davis, Calif., for a dual meet at The Pavilion on Feb. 16.