Back-to-back. The first of back-to-back dual meets is in store for the No. 4-ranked Seattle Pacific University gymnastics team this week as the Falcons, coming off their best-ever opening road meet score, return to Northern California and face Sacramento State. SPU (2-4) is seeking its first win in four meets when it visits the Hornets (4-3) Friday night (Feb. 15). The two teams meet again Feb. 22 at Brougham Pavilion.

Bay Area bounce. Seattle Pacific is off to its best scoring start, with an average of 189.512 in the first four meets. Better yet, the Falcons have been climbing and are coming off a total of 191.400 at San Jose State last week. It was by far the highest opening road meet score (surpassing the 187.875 at Fullerton in 2000) and the seventh-best road score overall. However, SPU has never scored over 189.500 at Sacramento.

Hometown girl. Of the three Californians on the roster, one is most familiar with the Sacramento area. Jennifer Christman (So., Fairfield, Ca./Benicia) hails from about 40 miles away and is coming off her best overall performance of the young season. Christman was one of the squads top vaulters as a freshman and remains a fixture in that lineup as well as the uneven bars. She scored a 9.575 and 9.750, respectively, at San Jose.

No stranger herself. Alison Siegel-McAfee (Sr., Oakland, Ca./Redwood Christian) is the teams other Northern California native and she too performed well at last weeks meet. Siegel-McAfee finished third in the all-around (38.500), a score which included a season-best effort on the bars (9.725), tying her for third with Kristen Strid (Jr., Kingsburg, Ca./Kingsburg), the third Golden Stater. Siegel-McAfee is currently ranked No. 2 among the USA Gymnastics leaders in vault average (9.700). Shes fourth in the all-around (38.444) and eighth in both bars (9.656) and floor (9.737).

Not in Kansas any more. Siegel-McAfee owns three school records and is the queen of the team for now, but her heir-apparent seems certain. Corrie McDaniel (Fr., Lawrence, Ks./Lawrence) rates as the best freshman to come down the pike since, well, Siegel-McAfee three years ago. McDaniel also competes in all four events and last week was slotted at the prestigious No. 6 spot in the bars lineup. Yet it was her floor routine which was the talk of the team afterward. McDaniel danced to a score of 9.850­tying for the fourth-best all-time on that event. She also added a respectable 9.550 on beam and finished with an all-around total of 37.925.

Consistency counts. Coach Laurel Tindall saw her team put together its most complete performance of season in San Jose. She was not only pleased with the consistency but season-high scores on both the bars (47.875) and floor (48.675). The former was an improvement of more than two full points on the previous meet and included four scores of 9.625 and above. On floor, all five counting scores were 9.575 or higher. The Falcons, after three rotations, found themselves tied with San Jose State but succumbed when they scored a 47.375 on vault while the Spartans had a 49.025 on floor.

Gym shorts. Missy McLaughlin (Sr., Federal Way, Wa./Decatur) is due to join the lineup in the vault this week after missing the first four meets with a knee injury. McLaughlin was an All-America on vault last season...Annastasia Ahr (So., San Antonio, Tx./Blessed Hope Academy) did not compete all-around after being bumped from the vault lineup but scored a 9.750 on floor...Kari Kelly (Fr., Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) made a dramatic comeback on bars, bouncing back to get a season-high 9.625 one week after falling three times...Courtney Stump (Sr., Poulsbo, Wa./Charles Wright) raised her floor score for the second week in a row, to 9.700...Strids 9.725 on bars was a personal and season-best...Nationally, Seattle Pacific ranks No. 3 on beam (47.131), No. 4 on vault (47.600) and floor (47.881) and No. 5 on bars (47.231). The Falcons, with an average of 189.512, trail Air Force (193.181), Texas Womans (190.800) and UC Davis (190.168). Southern Connecticut (188.300) is No. 5. Individually, Strid is No. 4 on beam (9.662), McDaniel is No. 12 in all-around and Ahr 18th...Courtney Amonsen (Jr., Redmond, Wa./Inglemoor) will be evaluated next week to determine whether shes sufficiently recovered from an ankle sprain. She has yet to see action this season...Julie Evin (Fr., Vancouver, Wa./Mountain View) is not expected to compete this season as she recovers from a back injury.

Opponent & series notes. Toni Petersen led the way for Sacramento State in a victory over Boise State last week, winning the bars (9.875), floor (9.900) and all-around competition (38.925). The Hornets have won seven straight meetings in the California capital with the Falcons last win there in 1991. Overall the Falcons lead the series 23-16.

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.