Staying local. After posting the highest opening meet score in the history of the program, the Seattle Pacific Gymnastics team (2-0) hosts California (2-0), the 20th-ranked team in NCAA Division I, Friday night (Jan. 25). SPU will be vying for its first win over a Pac-10 team since 1997. The Falcons complete their three-meet homestand Feb. 2 in a homecoming night dual with San Jose State. The first road meet is Feb. 8 at San Jose.

Breaking records. Seattle Pacific's score of 190.375 is more that two full points better than their previous best opening night, a total of 188.300 recorded back in 1992. The remarkable score was driven, in part, by solid balance beam performances. The squad racked-up 48.225 points on that event, counting five scores of 9.525 and higher. SPU defeated UC Davis on beam by 1.00­virtually accounting for the final margin of victory. SPU also won the vault and bars competitions. The Aggies, at 189.300, finished second in the meet, followed by Wisconsin-Stout (172.575).

Surprising themselves. Coach Laurel Tindall found herself pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the meet. Last year, collegiate gymnastics began competing only one vault per gymnast rather than two in regular season, and subsequently the pressure to hit has dramatically increased. As the team struggled to land vaults in warm-up, Tindall had doubts as to the outcome of the event. Her worries proved groundless as each gymnast found her landing for the competition and all five counting scores were 9.300 or better.

Top honors. Alison Siegel-McAfee (Sr., Oakland, Ca./Redwood Christian) won the vault and all-around titles, earning impressive rankings in Division II. Her winning vault score of 9.750 places her in a tie for second nationally, while her first-place all-around score of 38.600 gives her a commanding hold on No. 1, with her next-closest competition over a full point behind. As a veteran of the team, Siegel-McAfee competes last on three of the four events, and fares well against the challenge of finishing an event on a positive note. She is a four-time All-America and the school record-holder on vault, beam and all-around. Her vault victory was the fifth in the last six home meets, dating back to last year.

Other strong performances. The Falcons got a total team effort intheir first outing. Jennifer Christman (So., Fairfield, Ca./Benica High) scored 9.650 on vault, earning fourth place. Annastasia Ahr (So., Chelan, Wa./Blessed Hope Academy) proved invaluable as well, competing all-around (37.525) for the first time and finishing in a four-way tie for first place on beam (9.700). Teammates Corrie McDaniel (Fr., Lawrence, Ks./Lawrence High) and Kristen Strid (Jr., Kingsburg, Ca./Kingsburg Joint Union) joined her with identical scores of 9.700.

Freshman firepower. Three freshmen found themselves a place in lineup in the first meet. McDaniel competed on all four events, placing third in the all-around competition (37.775) and posting SPU's highest score on bars (9.725) which was good enough for third place. That score also ranks her in third nationally. Kari Kelly (Fr., Yakima, Wa./West Valley) finished just ahead of McDaniel on vault (9.450), while another freshman, Elisabeth Kingsley (Fr., Southlake, Tx./Harrison, Ga.), contributed to the team score on vault by landing an impressive half-half front 9.300.

National rankings. Sure, it is only the first meet of the season, but so far, the Falcons are on track to again find themselves in the heat of a championship race. The Division II rankings are in, and SPU is within the top three teams on each event. They are second on vault and bars, third on floor, and have the top honor on beam. Overall, not a bad place to begin the season.

Gym shorts. Courtney Stump (Sr., Poulsbo, Wa./Charles Wright) contributed scores on both beam (9.525) and floor (9.225)...Christman's 9.650 on bars broke her previous career-best score of 9.375, set last season...Ahr's 9.300 on bars marked her first collegiate appearance on that event...Almost as encouraging as the score was the fact that SPU accomplished it without the services of several key performers. Freshman Julie Evin (Fr., Vancouver, Wa./Mountain View) is still recovering from an autumn back injury. Missy McLaughlin (Sr., Federal Way, Wa./Decatur) was also out of the competition due to an injury. McLaughlin, an All-America last year on vault, should rejoin the lineup by next month. Courtney Amonsen (Jr., Redmond, Wa./Inglemoor) is also expected back soon from an ankle sprain...Until last week's meet, Seattle Pacific's earliest score of 190 or higher was Jan. 28, 2001, which was the third meet of the season. The only other 190 score during a January meet came in 1997...The Falcons have managed to hit back-to-back scores of 190-plus six times, including a stretch of four consecutive meets midway through last season.

Opponent & series notes. California is coming off a tight win over Oregon State in its home opener, 193.250-193.125. The Bears were led by sophomore Karissa Chock, who won the all-around with a total of 39.050. Cal has won 14 of the previous 15 meetings, including a defeat of SPU at the pavilion in the opening meet of 2000. 20th ranked (2-0)

Tickets, please. General admission tickets for all SPU home gymnastics meets are priced $5 with students, youth and senior citizens $3 with proper identification. Teams or groups can qualify for discount rates by call (206) 281-2085 in advance.

SPU Coaches. Coach Laurel Tindall is a veteran of the sport and is synonymous with the university. Originally, she competed for the Falcons, then replaced her mentor, George Lewis, immediately following graduation. Subsequently, she has served in her position for 26 years. Under her guidance, SPU has won three national championships and, individually, her gymnasts have taken 15 titles. Three times Tindall has been honored as national coach of the year. Kathy Siwek returns for her second season as an assistant coach. Siwek was a two-time All-American and a member of the 1997 national championship team. Joining the staff this season is John Carney.