Academy sports recap: gymnastics coach honored

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SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) --  Air Force Academy men’s gymnastics head coach Lou Burkel was named West Region Coach of the Year by the Collegiate Gymnastics Association April 6. He also was awarded the Richard M. Aronson Special Service Awards, which honors individuals who have provided exceptional service to the association.

Burkel, who is retiring in August after 30 years of service to the Air Force Academy and collegiate gymnastics, has held numerous key leadership positions including vice president and president of the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches. He is also chairman of the NCAA Gymnastics Committee, where he previously served for eight years as a member and three years as chairman. Burkel is a member of the USA Gymnastics Board of Directors and is also a member of the USAG Grievance Committee.

In gymnastics competition, the Falcons placed fifth at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships in Ithaca, N.Y., on April 15. Backed by its best vault score in more than two years, the men’s gymnastics team tallied a team score of 195.625, which was bolstered by a 36.150 on the vault, the second-best vault score of the day. Besides their impressive showing on the vault, where every gymnast placed within the top-half of the rankings, Air Force also tied for the fourth-best score on the floor (34.800) and tallied the fifth-best marks on the parallel bars (32.825).

The academy football team has finished up spring drills and named the co-captains for the coming season. Air Force senior offensive linemen Jon Wilson and Ross Weaver, along with senior nose guard Russ Mitscherling were named team captains April 13 by head coach Fisher DeBerry as the Falcons closed out spring drills with their final practice. The captains were voted on by their teammates, DeBerry said. The Falcons open fall camp Aug. 3.

Air Force golfers finished in 19th place at the Cowboy Classic in Scottsdale, Ariz., April 12. Hurt by a rocky opening round, the team fired a three-round total of 887 on the 7,133-yard, par-70 Talking Stick-North Golf Course. The University of Texas at El Paso won the team title firing an 840, while the University of Utah's Steve Newren earned medalist honors by finishing with a three-under-par 207. Cadet Tyler Goulding turned in the top performance for the Falcons, shooting a two-under-par 68 in round three to finish tied for 21st at 214.

In tennis action, the University of New Mexico won all three doubles matches and four singles contests to hand the Falcons a 5-2 defeat April 16 at the academy. The Air Force team is now 16-7 and 0-3 in league play.

The University of New Mexico also roughed up the Falcons on the ball diamond as they swept three games in Mountain West Conference play to put the Falcons at 5-26 on the season and 0-12 in conference play. In the first game, played April 16, the Lobos, bolstered by a three-run second inning, held on to defeat Air Force, 7-4. Then, in the first game of an April 17 double-header, the Lobos banged out 24 hits en route to an 18-7 win. In the second game, the Falcons failed to hold an early 5-0 lead, falling 12-6 to New Mexico.