Going for gold. A Seattle Pacific University team with a hallmark of consistency and the potential to put together a big score will seek the school's fourth national title when it arrives in Springfield, Mass., this week for the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships. The Falcons are seeded No. 3 and possess at least a couple of athletes capable of winning individual titles during the meet, which begins Thursday (Apr. 11) and runs through Saturday (Apr. 13). The women's eight-team field includes defending champion Air Force, Texas Woman's, UC Davis, Centenary (La.), Cornell, Southern Connecticut and UC Santa Barbara.

One day at a time. The formula for success at nationals is to take each event and each day, one at a time. Day One determines the four teams which advance to Friday's finals. In addition to the individual all-around title, the berths for Saturday's individual event finals (top eight plus ties) are also decided. Day Two is all about the team championship. The meet concludes on Day Three with event finals for both men and women.

Previous successes. Seattle Pacific has finished among the top four schools in Division II in each of the last 19 seasons. SPU owns three team titles, (1986, 1992 and 1997) and has produced 16 individual winners. The most recent was Deni Boswell, who captured both the all-around and uneven bars in 1998. In 2001, the Falcons finished third behind Air Force and UC Davis, with only 1.25 points separating first from fourth place. Only Texas Woman's, with six national crowns in the last nine years, can claim more championships than Seattle Pacific.

Final four? Air Force must be considered the favorite, based on its seeding and being the only USAG member to qualify for the NCAA regionals last week. Air Force and Texas Woman's, the No. 2 seed, both scored more than 195 points in meets this season. Seattle Pacific was a model of consistency, scoring 191.400 or higher in each of the last nine regular season meets. Air Force was the national leader on bars, beam and floor while TWU led the way on vault. SPU was ranked third on bars, beam and floor and fifth on vault. Realistically, five teams are capable of claiming the crown on a given night, including No. 4 UC Davis and No. 5 Centenary. In a sport where the difference between a first- and a fourth-place finish is often determined by a few tenths of a point, an extra step on a dismount or a wobble on the beam can cost a team the national title. The key to this championship will be consistency and absolutely clean routines.

Contenders. Individually, the Falcons feature at least a couple title contenders. Alison Siegel-McAfee (Sr., Oakland, Ca./Redwood Christian), a four-time All-America, is considered one of the top challengers in vault (she ranks No. 2 nationally), floor (No. 3), all-around (No. 3) and beam (No. 4). Siegel-McAfee finished eighth on beam at last week's NCAA West Regional, matching her season-best score of 9.850. She was fourth in the vault and all-around as a junior and second in the all-around and beam as a freshman in 1999. Corrie McDaniel (Fr., Lawrence, Ks./Lawrence), heir-apparent to Siegel-McAfee as the team's top gymnast next season, ranks No. 4 nationally on floor and No. 8 in the all-around. Kristen Strid (Jr., Kingsburg, Ca./Kingsburg) is No. 8 on beam and Jennifer Christman (So., Fairfield, Ca./Benicia) is No. 9 on bars.

Returning champions. Four of the five individual championships will be defended this week. Ericka Ruelas of UC Davis is bidding for her third straight crowns on bars and floor and she enters the met as the national leader on bars. The Aggies' Flora Bare will seek to repeat as winner on all-around, as will Air Force senior Beth Stott on beam. Other national leaders during the regular season were Air Force's Jenn Dougherty in all-around, Stott on beam, Tiffany Chan of UC Davis on floor and Jessica Brozovich of Texas Woman's on vault.

Season recap. Despite a lack of depth, Seattle Pacific has looked strong all season long. Beginning with a best-ever opening night score, the Falcons have dipped below 191 points only twice and scored a record road total of 192.900, which ranks No. 2 all-time. Further, no previous SPU has produced more scores in excess of 192 points (four to date). Coming into nationals, it has scored 191.900 or higher in each of its last five meets. On floor, McDaniel (9.925) and Siegel-McAfee (9.900) hit the school's No. 2 and No. 3 all-time top scores. Siegel-McAfee's season-high all-around of 39.050 ranks No. 2, behind only her school record of 39.125 set last season. The team also achieved a new record of 48.925 on floor.

Gym shorts. There was plenty of regional action for the top teams in Division II. Siegel-McAfee placed 17th in the West all-around with a total of 38.450. In other regionals, Air Force finished fifth in the North Central while Texas Woman's sent four athletes to the South Central...The Falcons have never had more than two all-arounders finish among the top eight in the same season and thereby earn All-America honors. Annastasia Ahr (So., San Antonio, Tx./Blessed Hope Academy) gives them the possibility of three. Ahr ranked No. 9 nationally during the regular season and has the team's third-highest scores on beam and floor...Freshmen have figured mightily in the season to date. In addition to McDaniel, Elisabeth Kinglsey (Fr., Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison) has been a fixture on vault while Kari Kelly (Fr., Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) has been a regular in the vault and bars lineup...Strid joins Siegel-McAfee as the only previous All-America. Strid was eighth on bars as a freshman. She avoided falls on beam in 11 of 12 meets this season. Missy McLaughlin (Sr., Federal Way, Wa./Decatur) finished eighth on vault last year but is injured and unable to compete.

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-America and a member of the 1997 national championship team.