Air Force Academy

Jan. 13, 2010

The Air Force men's and women's swimming and diving teams return to conference action this weekend, Jan. 16, as they visit MWC rival UNLV. The dual meet is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. (PT).

Last Time Out...
In their first dual action of the 2010 spring semester, the Air Force men's and women's swimming and diving teams fell to Denver on the road. The men came up short against the host Pioneers, 129-97, while the women dropped a 143-77 decision against Denver.

Juniors Robert Dawson (50 free), Josh Hammervold (100 breast) and Benjamin Gunn (100 back) posted wins for the Falcon men, while senior diver Chelsea Tompkins led the Air Force women with victories in both springboard events.

Scouting the Falcon Men...
The Air Force men's swimming and diving team enters this weekend with a 1-2 overall dual record and 0-1 mark in the Mountain West Conference.

Eight different Air Force men's swimmers rank in the top five in the Mountain West Conference in their respective events, led by junior Benjamin Gunn, who holds the league's fastest times in the 100 and 200 backstroke and 200 IM, while ranking fourth in the 100 butterfly. Meanwhile, junior Tom Hansen leads the conference in the 400 IM, while ranking third in the 200 back and fourth in the 500 free.

Senior Sean O'Keefe is the second-fastest in the MWC in the 500 free and 1650 free, while holding the fifth-fastest mark in the 200 free. Sophomore Corydon Butler ranks third in both the 500 and 1650 freestyle events, while freshman Jon Jones is third in the 200 free. Junior Josh Hammervold ranks among the top five in three different events, the 200 IM (third), 200 breast (fourth) and 100 breast (fifth), while also ranking among the league's top five is freshman Mark Hansen in the 400 IM (third) and junior Eric Robinson in the 200 fly (fourth).

Scouting the Falcon Women...
The Air Force women's swimming and diving team enters this weekend with a 2-5 overall dual record and an 0-4 ledger in the MWC.

Seven women's swimmers rank in the top 25 in the Mountain West Conference in their respective events, led by freshman Katrina Castellanos, who is 19th in the 200 breaststroke. Cassie Fletcher and Haley Holcombe are 22nd in the 100 free and 400 IM, respectively, while Rachel Roberts (1650 free), Kaeli Kluesner (200 back) and Becky Gleason (400 IM) are ranked 23rd in their respective events. In addition, sophomore Katharine Ernst has posted the 25th-fastest time in the MWC in the 200 butterfly.

Scouting the Rebels...
The UNLV men, ranked 23rd in the latest CSCAA coaches' poll, enter this weekend with a 4-1 dual record and 2-0 mark in the Mountain West Conference. This weekend marks the first competition of the calendar year for the Rebels, who finished second at the Finis Collegiate Invitational, hosted by Cal Lutheran, in mid-December.

The Rebels hold the fastest times in the conference in nine of 14 individual events. Among the league leaders for the UNLV men are Kier Maitland (200 free, 500 free, 1000 free, 1650 free), Steven Nelms (50 free, 100 fly), Calan Eldredge (100 free), Andrew Morrell (200 breast) and Daniel Egly (200 fly). UNLV also dominates the sprint events, with four of the league's five fastest times in the 50 free and five swimmers in the top five in the 100 freestyle.

Scouting the Lady Rebels...
The UNLV women enter this weekend with a 1-6 overall record and 1-3 mark in the MWC. The Lady Rebels picked up their first dual victory of the season last weekend, defeating conference foe New Mexico, 147-89.

Nine different UNLV women rank in top five of the MWC in their respective events. Among the leaders are Brittany Ozar (second, 1000 free; fifth, 200 free), Marva Harpak (third, 100 free; fourth, 200 free); Ana Dangalakova (third, 200 back; fourth, 400 IM); Kelsey Clark (third, 100 breast; fourth, 200 breast) and Lara Sreibers (second, 100 back).

Air Force Athlete of the Week...The Latest
Senior diver Chelsea Tompkins was named the Air Force Athlete of the Week on Jan. 11, following her performance in the Falcons' dual meet versus Denver. Tompkins led the women's team against the Pioneers, picking up wins in both of her events. She took first place on the 1-meter board with a season-best score of 211.72, 15 points ahead of her nearest competitor. Meanwhile, she added a victory on the 3-meter springboard with a score of 207.00.

Up Next...
The Falcons are back at home next week for a pair of conference dual meets. First, Air Force hosts BYU on Jan. 21 at 6:00 p.m., while welcoming Utah to the Cadet Natatorium Jan. 23 at 1:00 p.m.

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