Gymnastics: Air Force falls to No. 14 Denver in home finale

  • Published
  • By Valerie Perkin
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNEWS) --  The Air Force women's gymnastics team closed out the 2007 regular season posting its best overall score of the year. The Falcons set or matched season-best event scores on two events en route to the best overall total of the campaign.

However, Air Force's 187.250 wasn't enough to overcome Denver, which is ranked 14th in the nation. The Pioneers swept the top four individual spots on every event to tally a 196.525 and pick up the dual-meet win. The Falcons set a season-high 46.4000 on the uneven bars, while accumulating a 46.650 on the balance beam to match the season's high score.

Senior Sashonna Iwaniec led the Falcons on three events, while picking up a team-best third-place mark  of 37.625 in the all-around competition. Iwaniec's best event finish of the night was a fifth-place finish on the uneven bars. Tallying a 9.525, she led all Air Force finishers. Iwaniec also earned a pair of sixth-place finishes with a 9.625 on the vault and a 9.525 score in the floor exercise.

Classmate Christine Powers picked up the Falcons' highest score of the night as she recorded a season-best matching 9.700 on the balance beam to finish seventh. In addition, Powers picked up the squad's second-highest total of 9.425 on the uneven bars to take sixth.

Junior Kelly Lewis scored a 9.525 on the vault to finish seventh, while freshman Kayla Kincade earned a 9.625 on the balance beam to place ninth. Fellow freshman Emily Darone recorded a career-best 9.475 on the floor to take seventh.

The Falcons return to action March 30  when the team competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships at Seattle.

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