TABLE OF CONTENTS & QUICK FACTS ACADEMY QUICK FACTS Location . .USAF Academy, Colo. Founded . .1954 Enrollment . .4,000 Colors . .Blue and Silver Nickname . .Falcons Affiliation . .NCAA Division I WHAT’S INSIDE Conference . .Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnasium . .Cadet West Gymnasium Quick Facts . .1 Superintendent . .Lt. Gen. John F. Regni COACHING STAFF Director of Athletics . .Dr. Hans Mueh Head Coach . .2 GYMNASTICS INFORMATION Assistant Coaches . .3 Support Staff . .4-5 Head Coach . .Kip Simons 2007 TEAM INFORMATION Alma Mater (Year) . .Ohio State (1994) Men’s Gymnastics Roster . .5 Email . [email protected] Season Preview . .6-7 Office Phone . .(719) 333-7667 Office Fax . .(719) 333-7320 Roster Breakdown . .7 Assistant Coach . .Brett McClure MEET THE FALCONS Email . [email protected] Senior Gymnast . .8 Office Phone . .(719) 333-7667 Junior Gymnasts . .8-10 Assistant Coach . .Lt. Col. Chuck Schweiss Email . [email protected] Sophomore Gymnasts . .10-11 Office Phone . .(719) 222-0600 Newcomers . .12-13 Volunteer Assistant Coach . .Dave Mickelson 2006 SEASON IN REVIEW Athletic Trainer . .Phil Stone Season Recap . .14-15 Officer Representative . .Capt. Scott Gunn Team Captains . .Kurt Antonio, Brian Boardman Season-Best Scores . .15 PROGRAM HISTORY MEDIA INFORMATION Honors and Awards . .16-18 All-Time Letterwinners . .18-19 Assistand AD/Media Relations . .troy Garnhart Assistant SID/Men’s Gymnastics . .Valerie Perkin Coaching History . .20 Email . [email protected] All-Time Program Records . .20 Office Phone . .(719) 333-8286 AIR FORCE ACADEMY Office Fax . .(719) 333-3798 The Academy Experience . .21 Cell Phone . .(719) 440-5315 Mailing Address . .2168 Fieldhouse Dr., USAF Academy, CO 80840 Senior Leadership . .22 Official Website . .GoAirForceFalcons.com Air Force Athletics . .23-24 CREDITS: The 2007 Air Force Men’s Gymnastics Media Guide was written and designed by assistant athletic media relations direc- tor Valerie Perkin. Additional editing provided by the athletic media relations staff and the Air Force gymnastics coaches. Photos by Dennis Rogers (action shots), Joel Strayer (headshots) and Danny Meyer (team photos) of the Academy RJV photo lab. Printing done by Madeline McGuire, athletic media relations. 2007 Media Guide 1 HEAD COACH Olympian Kip Simons is beginning his second season as the head coach of the Air Force Academy men's gymnastics team. Simons joined the Academy in 2005, after spending five seasons on the coaching staff for the California-Berkeley men's gym- nastics program. In his first season guiding the Falcons, Simons was forced to overcome season-end- ing injuries to several key athletes, while enduring a schedule that featured sev- eral of the nation's top teams. His fellow coaches within the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation named Simons co-coach of the year at the annual conference championships. Prior to his appointment to the Academy, Simons spent five seasons with the Cal Bears. He was an assistant coach from 2001-05 and then held the title of associ- ate head coach for the final year of his stay in Berkeley. During his tenure at Cal, the Bears finished within the top-two at the MPSF Championships every year, winning the conference title in 2004. Simons helped KIP SIMONS guide Cal to a pair of third-place finishes at the NCAA Championships and coached Head Coach 19 top-10 finishers, including four national champions. Second Season Ohio State (1994) Simons began his collegiate-level coaching career following a stellar career at both the collegiate and national levels. In 1988, Simons dominated the U.S. Junior National Championships and the Junior Pan-American Games, collecting 10 gold medals. During a successful college career at Ohio State, Simons earned numerous honors throughout his four years, including the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the SIMONS' CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Nissen-Emery Award, which is given to the nation's top senior gymnast. 1988 Junior Pan-Am champion 1991 Big Ten Freshman of the Year 1994 Goodwill Games Gold Medalist A native of Bloomsburg, Pa., he was a four-year member of the All-Big 10 team, while 1994 Nissen-Emery Award winner earning four Big 10 Conference titles on the parallel bars (1992, 1994), still rings 1995 Pan-American Gold Medalist (1992) and high bar (1993). In addition, Simons picked up two NCAA All-America hon- 1996 Still Rings National Champion ors, as the Buckeyes finished third at the national meet during each of his last 1996 Olympian three seasons. Two-time World team member Following his collegiate career, Simons competed on two world championship Two-time NCAA All-American teams, as well as the gold-medal winning teams at the 1994 Goodwill Games and the Four-time Big Ten champion 1995 Pan-American Games. He also represented the United States as a member of Five-time Jr. Olympics gold medalist Four-time Ohio State letterwinner the 1996 Olympic team that finished fifth at the Atlanta Games. OSU Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee In September 2006, Simons was one of 12 Ohio State alumni inducted into the OSU 2006 MPSF Co-Coach of the Year Athletics Hall of Fame by the Varsity "O" Association. 2 Air Force Men’s Gymnastics ASSISTANT COACHES Olympian Brett McClure is beginning his first season as an assistant coach for the Air Force men's gymnastics team. A member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team that won a silver medal in Athens, McClure is the second member of the coaching staff with Olympic experience, as head coach Kip Simons was a member of the 1996 U.S. Men’s Gymnastics team. McClure brings an impressive resume to the Falcons' coaching staff, as he has spent the past seven years as a member of the U.S. Senior National Team. At the national level, McClure has competed in six U.S. Championship meets, col- lecting 12 top-three finishes. He earned top honors on the pommel horse at both the 2001 and 2004 meets. The native of Mill Creek, Wash., also competed in seven of the past eight prestigious Winter Cup Challenges. At the 2003 meet, he claimed first-place honors on the pommel horse, high bar and all-around. He has competed in over 20 international competitions, including the 2004 Olympic Games. While in Athens, he helped the United States to a silver medal in the team BRETT McCLURE standings - the best team finish by the U.S. men in 20 years. In fact, it marked just Assistant Coach the third time since 1906 that the United States had medaled at the Olympic Games First Season (1932-silver, 1984-gold and 2004-silver). In addition to his stint on the Olympic Team, McClure has competed in three world championships, helping the U.S. to a pair of second-place finishes. During interna- tional competitions, he has been a part of three first-place teams, while amassing 10 first-place individual finishes and over 20 second- or third-place marks. McClure, who retired from competitive gymnastics in May 2006, resides in Colorado Springs, where he had been training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. He is mar- ried to 1996 Olympic gold-medalist Jaycie Phelps. As a four-year letterwinner with the Air Force men's gymnastics team, Lt. Col. Chuck Schweiss enters his first season as an assistant coach for the Falcons. In addition to handling the day-to-day training of the gymnasts, Schweiss also serves as an instructor at the Academy, teaching boxing, racquetball and unarmed combat. Schweiss joined the Wisconsin Air National Guard following his graduation from high school. Entering the Air Force Academy in 1978, Schweiss spent four years as a member of the men's gymnastics program and served as team captain during his senior year. Schweiss graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1982. After undergraduate pilot training, he served as a T-38 instructor at Williams AFB, Ariz., prior to being selected for Pilot Instructor duty at Randolph AFB, Texas. Schweiss also flew the F-16 during a tour at Ramstein AB, Germany, completing over 30 combat missons in support of Operation Provide Comfort over Northern Iraq. Schweiss separated from active duty in 1992, but continued to support the Academy as a liaison officer. He also served as an operations officer for the National Guard LT. COL. CHUCK Marksmanship Training Unit and worked as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee SCHWEISS with the Air Mobility Command Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB, Ill. Assistant Coach After 20 years of service, he retired from the military in 2000. Four years later, First Season Schweiss re-entered the Air Force Reserve and began his current tour at the Air Air Force Academy (1982) Force Academy. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in October 2006. A senior pilot with over 1600 hours in the T-38 and over 800 hours in the F-16C, Schweiss also recorded over 7000 hours as a pilot with United Airlines. He is mar- ried to Lt. Col. (ret.) Susan Schweiss. They currently live in Monument, Colo., with their two children, Erik (15) and Sarah (13). 2007 Media Guide 3 SUPPORT STAFF The Air Force men’s gymnastics team welcomes Dave Mickelson back for his sixth season as a volunteer assistant coach. Mickelson joined the Falcons after spend- ing 11 years as the head coach of the Iowa State men’s gymnastics team, following a six-year stint as an assistant coach with the Cyclones. During his tenure as the head coach, Iowa State produced five NCAA All-Americans, including two NCAA individual champions. As a team, ISU picked up a fourth-place team finish at the national meet. As an assistant coach with the Cyclones, Mickelson helped generate 13 NCAA All- Americans, three NCAA individual champions and one Olympian.