Air Force Women’s Gymnastics is set to compete in the opening round of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional against No. 44 Nebraska on March 31. The event will take place at LSU’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center, with the winner advancing to face No. 2 LSU, No. 15 Clemson, and Auburn for a chance at the regional final.
This marks only the third time Air Force has been selected for an NCAA regional, and its first appearance since the 2002 season when it finished fifth after earning sixth place in its debut in 2001.
The postseason structure involves a dual format in the first round, followed by an eight-team second round including individuals. The top two teams from each session move to the final round, with two teams ultimately advancing to the national championship scheduled for April 18 in Fort Worth. Individual gymnasts also have opportunities to qualify based on their performances during regionals.
The Falcons’ recent season has seen several milestones. Junior all-arounder Maggie Slife was named Mountain West Gymnast of the Year while head coach Jennifer Green received Coach of the Year honors from the Mountain West Conference—her first since joining Air Force and a program first since 2018. Slife also became Air Force’s first-ever Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association First-Team All American on bars and as an all-arounder, making her just the second athlete in Mountain West history to achieve this recognition.
During Senior Night on March 14, Air Force achieved a record score of 197.150 against Fisk Bulldogs—a new program and conference record—highlighted by strong performances across all events including career-best scores from several gymnasts such as Slife (9.975 on beam) and Bigler (9.925 on beam). Earlier that month, defeating San Jose State secured Air Force its first-ever share of a Mountain West regular season title.
Currently ranked third in their conference and thirtieth nationally with a team average score of 195.590, Air Force continues rewriting its record books heading into postseason play.
