Falcon women gymnasts narrowly fall to Alaska twice

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U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  The Air Force Academy women’s gymnastics team fell less than a point shy of the University of Alaska at Anchorage on Jan. 28 and 30.

Despite posting their best team score of the season, the Falcons fell 190.575-190.400 on Jan. 28 and 189.875-189.625 on Jan. 30 to the visiting Seawolves.

In the Jan. 28 meet, the Falcons posted season-best team scores in three of the four events, including the vault (48.150), uneven bars (46.525) and floor (48.675), en route to improving on their team score by nearly a point and a half.

Jessa Liegl won the all-around with an impressive 38.825, while Lauren Robison tied for second with a 38.425.

The Falcons dominated the floor exercise, taking six of the top seven spots. Liegl won the event with a 9.875 routine, while Robison (9.800) and Sashonna Iwaniec (9.725) finished second and third, respectively.

Liegl also led the Falcons on the vault with a 9.725 score to finish second, while Kelly Lewis took third with a 9.650. Liegl tied for the runner-up spot on the uneven bars, with a 9.700 and had the Falcons’ best balance beam score at 9.525, en route to a fifth-place finish.

Despite the loss, the Falcons did pick up individual event wins on three of the four events and the all-around Jan. 30. Jessa Liegl won the bars with an impressive 9.800 performance and tied for first on the beam with a 9.775, en route to winning the all-around with a score of 38.375.

Lauren Robison took top honors on the floor exercise with a score of 9.675, while Alaska’s Dominique Ingram won the vault with a 9.725. Liegl and Iwaniec finished second (9.675) and third (9.650), respectively on that apparatus.

Katie Donnell earned top-five honors on the bars with a fourth-place score of 9.425, while Iwaniec tied for fifth on the event with a 9.350. Iwaniec also finished in a tie for fourth on the balance beam with a score of 9.625. Robison finished fifth on the vault (9.550) and Caroline Canfield earned the same spot on the floor with a 9.600.

This was the second straight meet where the final score was not decided until the final gymnast had competed. Air Force fell to Alaska by just 0.175 Jan. 28 before finishing second to the Seawolves by 0.250 Jan. 30.

The Falcons wrap up a season-opening home stand Feb. 5 against Centenary University and Seattle Pacific University.