Air Force at Denver

Recap

The Big Storyline: Jessica Hutchinson had herself a day with wins on four of the five possible events. She even earned a 10.0 from one judge for her efforts on floor. Denver continued to make adjustments after losing a second fifth-year to an Achilles injury. Although the Pioneers’ performance was not mistake free, the team fought through the entire competition to avoid counting any falls. Air Force had its best vault performance of the year, not counting any scores below 9.750. The Falcons did not count any major mistakes today, so the team will count that as a victory. 

Implications: With a second 194-plus score on the weekend, Air Force successfully will fend off the advances of Yale. However, the Bulldogs are hot on the Falcons’ tail, so the team will need a few more performances like this. The Falcons need to get back to performing the beam they are capable of if they hope to stay in the third spot in USAG long term. On the bright side, Air Force has successfully moved ahead of Sacramento State on the conference front. Denver will slide back one more spot to 12th in the national rankings this week. The team continues to search for an adequate replacement for Mia Sundstrom’s scores. Several athletes are raising their game, but the Pioneers will need more time for these new lineup additions to compete to their potential.