Air Force Academy

March 24, 2007

The Air Force women's gymnastics team closes out the 2007 regular season the way it began, as it faces in-state rival Denver in a dual-meet. The Falcons, who traveled to Denver of their season-opening meet, will host the Pioneers on Monday, March 26, at 7 p.m., in the Cadet West Gym.

Weekly Release 09 - Denver
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SENIOR SALUTE: Following the conclusion of Sunday's meet, the Air Force women's gymnastics team recognized its three senior-most gymnasts - Charlotte Freedman, Sashonna Iwaniec and Christine Powers - and senior manager Erica Pong.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS: Air Force is currently ranked ninth in the North Central Region with a Regional Qualifying Score of 185.165...that RQS is fourth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation...Sashonna Iwaniec leads the team with an all-around RQS of 37.195, which is sixth in the league...in its last meet, Air Force dropped a 191.600-185.600 decision to Cal...this will be the second time this season that the Falcons have faced the Pioneers.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS: Denver is ranked 16th in the nation with a Regional Qualifying Score of 195.685...Sasha Sullivan is ranked 10th in the nation with a 9.900 RQS on the floor, while Casey Dobyns is ranked 14th (9.890) on the vault...as a team, the Pioneers are ranked eighth (49.170) nationally on the floor...DU won its last meet with a score of 196.000, defeating Cal and BYU.

LAST TIME OUT: Sophomore Abigail Rogers won the floor exercise with a career-best score of 9.750, as Air Force dropped a 191.600-185.600 decision to visiting Cal-Berkeley on March 18, at the Academy. Rogers' winning mark matched her personal-high score, which she first set at Ohio State. While she was the only Falcon to finish within the top-three, freshman Kayla Kincade was close, as she picked up a fourth-place finish on the balance beam behind a team-leading score of 9.525.

I KNOW YOU!: The Falcons have faced the Pioneers once this season, as Air Force dropped a 195.375-179.250 decision to Denver in its season-opening meet. The squad's newcomers shined in their debut, accounting for many of the Falcons' top scores.

ROGERS NAMED GYMNAST OF THE WEEK: After winning the floor exercise with a career-best score in the Falcon's meet with Cal, Air Force sophomore Abigail Rogers was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week, the league office announced this morning (March 20). It is the first such honor for Rogers. She becomes the second Air Force gymnast to earn the league's weekly honor, as freshman Michelle Denise picked up the honor during the first week of competition.

HERE, THERE, AND EVERYWHERE: The Falcons wrapped up a four-week excursion that took them back and fourth across the country. Air Force opened 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 returned to the Midwest on Feb. 25, as they took on Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, Mich., and rounded out the road-swing back on the West Coast with a tri-meet in California on March 9.

LOOKING FAMILIAR: Sunday (March 18) was the second time in eight days that Air Force and Cal faced one another in competition. The two teams joined Penn the previous Saturday in Berkeley for a tri-meet that Cal won (194.575). It was the shortest turnaround of the season for Air Force to face the same the team, as Air Force and UC-Davis competed in a pair of home-and-home meets during a 12-day span.

`RANK YOU VERY MUCH: With the switch to the rankings being determined by the Regional Qualifying Score, Air Force has just one gymnast ranked among the league's top-six. Senior Sashonna Iwaniec is ranked sixth in the conference's all-around standings with an RQS of 37.195.

COMING UP: Air Force continues a very busy week of competition, as it travels to Seattle, Wash., for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships on Friday, March 30.