Brittany Dutton and Lisa Wong Share Beam Title at MPSF Championships
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Highlighted by seniors Brittany Dutton and Lisa Wong sharing the conference title on the balance beam with career-best scores, the Air Force women’s gymnastics team finished second at the 2011 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships on Saturday, March 19, at the Academy’s Cadet West Gym.
Dutton and Wong tallied career-best scores of 9.775 on the balance beam to win their first conference titles. That score is a career-best for Dutton by 0.075 and a 0.025 personal improvement for Wong. The pair’s first-place finish on the beam marks the third straight season that a member of the Air Force squad has accounted for a conference title.
The seniors were two of five Falcons to stand on the awards’ podium of the balance beam, as Air Force posted its best team score of the season at 48.575. Freshmen Jen Larsen, Linnaea Hance and Jessica Hanner all scored matching marks of 9.675 to tie for sixth.
In addition to her conference title on the balance beam, Dutton was the runner-up on the floor exercise (9.725) and all-around (38.575).
Samantha Jones was the Falcons’ top finisher on the vault and uneven bars. The junior tied for fourth on the vault with a career-best matching mark of 9.775, while tying for sixth on the uneven bars with a 9.650. Jones also tied for fifth on the floor exercise with a score of 9.675.
Larsen also earned a trip to the awards podium in the all-around, as she amassed a career-high 38.275 to place third.
UC Davis claimed the MPSF team title with a combined score of 192.975, while the Falcons placed second with a 192.225 – its second-highest score of the season. Seattle Pacific scored a 191.250 to take third, while Alaska-Anchorage rounded out the field with a fourth-place score of 190.475.
Katie Yamamura of UC Davis won the vault with a score of 9.900, while teammates Marcy Miller and Jessica Rea shared the top spot on the uneven bars. Alaska-Anchorage’s Kelsey Fullerton scored a 9.825 to win the floor exercise. Miller also won the all-around with a combined score of 38.850.
The Falcons are off until Saturday, April 2, when select gymnasts travel to Denver, Colo., for the 2011 NCAA Regional Championships. The NCAA will release its field of competitors within the next week
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