Seeing double. Following some solid success in its initial road meets, the Seattle Pacific University gymnastics team returns to Brougham Pavilion for its only home meet in a span of six weeks. The No. 4-ranked Falcons (3-4) are aiming to repeat an upset of Sacramento State (4-4) for the second week in a row when the two teams duel Friday night (Feb. 22). Next week, the first of four consecutive road meets sends SPU across town to Washington for a three-way meet involving UCLA March 1.

Road map to success. In a sport where competitions are won by thousandths of points, the odds of earning identical scores in consecutive meets is highly unlikely. Yet for the first time since the 1996 season the Falcons did just that. Better still, their total of 191.400 was sufficient to defeat Sacramento State (190.600) for the first victory since the opening meet Jan. 18. The trick now is to bring that form back to the pavilion where the best score in three home meets is 190.325.

Getting a little help. Last week's meet didn't look so promising after a couple events. By the time SPU emerged from the vault and bars they trailed the Hornets by almost two full points. But sometimes a contest comes down to which team makes fewer mistakes, and Sac State committed many during the third rotation, allowing the Falcons to pull ahead comfortably going into the final event. While the Hornets fell nine times (counting six) from the beam (and scored just 44.900), SPU was doing just fine on floor, scoring a 48.600, by way of five scores of 9.625 and higher. Alison Siegel-McAfee (Sr., Oakland, Ca./Redwood Christian) and Corrie McDaniel (Fr., Lawrence, Ks./Lawrence)­coming off a career-high the previous week­each scored a 9.800 to earn a tie for second place. Rachael Anderson (Jr., Yakima, Wa./West Valley) added her season best of 9.725. Although Sacramento State pulled nearly a full point back when they moved to floor, SPU held on with a respectable 47.750 on beam.

Beam 'em up. Not surprisingly, SPU swept the top four positions on beam. Siegel-McAfee led the way with 9.725, followed by Kristen Strid (Jr., Kingsburg, Ca./Kingsburg) at 9.675, Annastasia Ahr (So., San Antonio, Tx./Blessed Hope Academy) with a 9.650 and Courtney Stump (Sr., Poulsbo, Wa./Charles Wright) scoring 9.550. Siegel-McAfee also won the vault (9.750) and all-around competition, the latter matching her season-high of 38.800.

National Rankings. Nearly halfway through the season, the Falcons have constantly remained near the top four on each event. Currently, in the USA Gymnastics (Division II) rankings, SPU is No. 4 on beam (47.255), vault (47.250), floor (48.025), overall (189.890) and No. 5 on bars (47.360). Individually, Siegel-McAfee owns some impressive numbers. She is No. 2 on vault, No. 3 in all-around, No. 7 on floor and No. 9 on bars. Strid's consistency has given her hold of the No. 5 spot on beam, which is the highest for any SPU gymnast on that event. McDaniel is also in the all-around race, currently ranked No. 13.

Gym shorts. Siegel-McAfee's all-around win was her third in five meets. She has taken first in vault and beam twice...The Falcons managed to match their season-high team score of 47.875 on bars but the Hornets took the top five individual places. Jennifer Christman (So., Fairfield, Ca./Benicia) tied for sixth with Strid a 9.700. Kari Kelly (Fr., Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) was right behind, scoring a season-best 9.650...Elisabeth Kingsley (Fr., Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison) finished fourth on vault last week with a 9.575...The Falcons, with a raw average of 189.890, are in fourth place in USAG, trailing Air Force (193.200), Texas Woman's (191.332) and UC Davis (190.168)...Missy McLaughlin (Sr., Federal Way, Wa./Decatur) returned to lineup following a knee injury. However, McLaughlin sustained a fractured ankle on vault last week and is out indefinitely...Ahr competed in three of the four events, and contributed to the team score with each performance. She scored a 9.300 on bars, a 9.650 on beam, and a 9.650 on floor...Courtney Amonsen (Sr., Redmond, Wa./Inglemoor) will be evaluated this week to determine whether she's 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...Next month's meet at UC Davis has been moved up from Mar. 9 to Mar. 7 due to a scheduling conflict with the Aggies' facility. A new start time will be determined once travel arrangements are finalized. SPU also competes at Stanford Mar. 8 on that trip.

Opponent & series notes. Sacramento State's Lori Gillette, with a 9.875, led a sweep of the top five places in the bars last week while Jenny Diamond and Toni Petersen went 1-2 on floor. The Hornets won three of the four events but could not overcome the nine falls on beam, where their highest score was 9.325. Overall the Falcons lead the series 24-16.

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.