Brougham opener. Rife with potential but laden with injuries early on, the Seattle Pacific University gymnastics team swings into its 30th season next Saturday (Jan. 25) when the Falcons host San Jose State. It's the first of five home meets on a schedule which culminates in mid-April. Seattle Pacific brings back eight returnees, including two of the All-America variety, from a squad which finished fourth in the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships. Following its initial meet, SPU visits Stanford Jan. 31 before returning home to meet Washington Feb. 7.

Season of change. There are some new twists in store in 2003 as the Falcons join a new conference, test a new apparatus and undergo a change at the top of their lineup. First, Seattle Pacific was brought into the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation as a new member, along with Alaska Anchorage. Comprising the rest of the MPSF gymnastics participants are defending national champion Air Force, Sacramento State, San Jose State and UC Davis. The conference championship meet is Mar. 29 in Sacramento. Throughout the sport, there is a new, wider vault being used. Coach Laurel Tindall welcomes a new member to her staff. Joining Kathy Siwek as an assistant is Alison Siegel-McAfee, who completed her career last season. Siegel-McAfee is a four-time All-America and school record-holder on vault, balance beam and all-around.

Broken record. There are very few sure things in life but the Falcons' habit of finishing among the best in the nation comes awfully close. Seattle Pacific extended its string of top-four national finishes to 19 consecutive years in 2002. Despite little depth, SPU set a team record on floor exercise and scored in excess of 191 points in its final 11 meets. Besides Siegel-McAfee, other losses to graduation were Missy McLaughlin and Courtney Stump.

All-America girls. Tindall, now in her 28th year, has eight returnees among her 14 squad members. The headliner of the group is Corrie McDaniel (So., Lawrence, Ks./Lawrence), an All-America in all-around and the Honda Award recipient for Division II as a freshman. McDaniel is coming off an impressive rookie campaign in which tied for fifth in the national all-around and totaled 38-plus points seven times. Her season-high floor score of 9.925 ranks No. 2 all-time. The other All-America returnee is Kristen Strid (Sr., Kingsburg, Ca./Kingsburg Joint Union), who finished fifth nationally on beam. Strid was also an All-America on the uneven bars in 2000.

Experience is where it's at. Five of the Falcons' returnees are upperclassmen. Rachael Anderson (Sr., Yakima, Wa./West Valley) may compete all-around due to the addition of a new Yrchenko skill on vault during the offseason. Annastasia Ahr (Jr., San Antonio, Tx./Blessed Hope Academy), who competed all-around regularly last season, will be a leader, especially on vault. Jennifer Christman (Jr., Fairfield, Ca./Benicia) is set to compete on vault and uneven bars and Courtney Amonsen (Sr., Redmond, Wa./Inglemoor) will balance the beam. Kari Kelley (So., Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) could emerge as a standout on vault.

Signed, sealed, delivered. Just as McDaniel made a profound impact as a freshman, Tindall is hopeful that some of her recruits will pay immediate dividends. Transfer Melissa Stanton (Jr., Rapid City, SD/Central-Hamline) was a three-time national champion at the Division III level, claiming two bars titles and one in all-around. Stanton has recently struggled with a back injury but is expected to be in the lineup on opening night. Another recruit, Cindy Reed (Fr., Antioch, Ca./Deer Valley), is set to compete on vault, beam and floor exercise. Reed, who won a USAIGC national all-around title at Level 9, hails from the same Bay Area club which produced Siegel-McAfee.

Depth is the question. Despite the fact that she has an expanded roster, Tindall starts the season with precious little depth due to injuries, particularly with its newcomers. Jaynie Reynolds (Fr., White Rock, BC/South Delta) and Anna Leiferman (Fr., Thornton, Co./Horizon) have been plagued by various ailments in preseason. Kristyn Bence (Fr., Vista, Ca./Vista) plans to compete for a lineup spot before long, but redshirt Julie Evin (Fr., Vancouver, Wa./Mountain View) remains out indefinitely. Evin missed last season with a lower back injury. Elisabeth Kingsley (So., Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison) is slowly recovering from reconstructive knee surgery which she suffered at nationals.

Gym Shorts. The Falcons would like to replicate last year's strong start when they opened with a 190.325 home win against rival UC Davis and Wisconsin-Stout. It was the Falcons' best ever opening meet score...The new vault measures four feet wide and is considered much safer, requiring much less precision to hit the horse. Tindall said it allows for much more difficult stunts and, thus, higher scores.

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 27 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 third season as an assistant coach. Siwek was a two-time All-America and a member of the 1997 national championship team. Alison Siegel-McAfee joins the staff after having completed her career in 2002 as a four-time All-America and school record-holder in vault, beam and all-around.

Missing links. For the latest and best information on Seattle Pacific University athletics, stay where you're at -- on The Falcons Online. For updated standings and statistics, see the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web site.