Hold on tight. With two preseason polls down and one coming this week, the Seattle Pacific University women's basketball team is expected to be among the best in the West. The Falcons, poised to keep their conference trophy and make their sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II tournament next spring, will be tested from the outset when they play a pair of exhibition games against respected Division I programs from the West Coast Conference. SPU, which was 24-5 and came within two points of advancing to the Elite Eight, visits Portland (12-15) Thursday night (Nov. 8) and Gonzaga (5-23) Saturday night (Nov. 10). The regular season begins Nov. 17 in Brougham Pavilion versus Western Baptist.

Top picks. Two preseason polls hold high expectations for the Falcons. They earned eight of 10 first-place votes in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference coaches poll, finishing ahead of arch-rival Western Washington. The NCAA Division II West Region preseason poll starts just as it finished last season, with Cal Poly Pomona and SPU at the top. The Broncos defeated the Falcons 63-62 in the regional championship game en route to taking the NCAA title. Western and fellow GNAC rivals Central Washington and Alaska Fairbanks were also among those ranked regionally. The WBCA/USA Today Top 25 national preseason poll will be released Wednesday (Nov. 7).

Young and the restless. Usually teams which lose their entire starting frontline do not fare so well in early-season polls. Still, Coach Gordy Presnell believes he has his best-ever cast of recruits, plus he has solid leadership in the backcourt. Stephanie Urrutia (Jr., 5-9, Sunnyside, Wa.) and Kerie Hughes (Jr., 5-6, Mount Vernon, Wa./Mt. Vernon) return as starters at shooting- and point-guard, respectively. Urrutia was named to the all-conference team after leading the team in total assists (4.1), rebounds (5.6) and steals (2.3). She also is the top scorer (12.4) among returnees and developed into a reliable performer in the clutch during the final month of her sophomore campaign. Hughes averaged 5.4 assists and 2.8 steals, leading the conference in the latter despite missing eight games with a knee injury.

Up front. A solid sophomore, successful surgery and a key transfer help to give the Falcons a most formidable frontcourt presence. Presnell lost his starting center and forwards, including Gus Balogh, the No. 4 career scorer and 2001 conference player of the year. Two of the candidates for those open positions come from within. Before going down with a season-ending knee injury after six games, Kristin Poe (So., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa./Enumclaw) was starting and averaging 12.5 points and 8.3 rebounds. Poe's rehabilitation from that injury is practically complete. Valerie Gustafson (So., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills) only started six times last season but led the team in shooting (52 percent) and was No. 3 in scoring (9.2). Presnell also procured a top-caliber center in Kelley Berglund (Jr., 6-3, Port Angeles, Wa.). A year ago Berglund started was Washington State's starting pivot, leading the Cougars in rebounding (5.5) and blocked shots (0.7) while scoring 9.2 points per game. She was named to the Pac-10 honorable mention all-freshman team in 2000.

Should see plenty of minutes. The Falcons figure to be as deep as they were in 1998, when they won the region and earned their only trip to the Elite Eight. Up front they are two deep at each position. Stacie Lukkes (Jr., 6-0, Kent, Wa./Kentwood) was reliable off the bench last year, averaging 4.4 boards. From the freshman class come two future greats in Michelle Beaumont (Fr., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa./Sehome) and Emily Faurholt (Fr., 5-11, Kennewick, Wa./Kennewick). Beaumont is a pure shooter and perhaps the best 3-point three-point threat on the squad. Faurholt was the 4A state player of the year after leading her team on a 52-game win streak. Relieving Hughes and Urrutia at guard will be another rookie, Trisha Hermanson (Fr., 5-6, Buckley, Wa./White River), another 3-point threat.

Scheduling notes. Seattle Pacific plays four of its first five games at home but then does not return to the pavilion for six weeks. GNAC play begins Dec. 6 at Saint Martin's. Both holiday tournaments in December are noteworthy. The Falcons make their first trip to Hawaii for the Coconut Coast Classic Dec. 17-18 in Hilo and then visit Cal Poly Pomona Dec. 28 in a rematch of the regional final last March.

Put-backs. The Falcons are 3-1 in their last four games vs. D-Is, including a 62-58 exhibition win at Portland a year ago. Poe scored four of her 18 points in the final two minutes and also had 12 boards...Presnell is comfortable with his team's talent at every position and is emphasizing team chemistry in the early going. He says the development of the team's freshman will be crucial to the team's success...Ashley Cadotte (Fr., 6-0, Oregon City, Or./Oregon City) is a strong all-around player who should see some minutes in the low post. Mackenzie Duffin (Fr., 6-2, Kent, Wa./Kent-Meridian) is athletic and should contribute as a shot-blocker and rebounder once she learns the system.

SPU Coaches. Coach Gordy Presnell begins the 2001-02 campaign needing just 15 wins to reach the 300-victory career milestone. Presnell has guided the program to 14 consecutive winning seasons. He took a team that had not recorded a winning record in nine seasons or earned a trip to the postseason and transformed it into a Division II powerhouse. During his tenure, the Falcons have averaged more than 20 wins per season and qualified for the playoffs nine times, including an Elite Eight appearance in 1998. Lynne DeYoung is in her fifth season as an assistant coach after recording a handful of three-point shooting records for the Falcons from 1994-97. Brett Hecko joins the staff as an assistant coach. He both played and coached at DePauw (In.).