Road rules. After posting a solid opening-night score, the Seattle Pacific University gymnastics team (0-1) goes on the road in looking for improvement and its first win this week-and the latter will be a tall order. The Falcons will visit Stanford (4-1), the 9th-ranked team in NCAA Division I, Friday night (Jan. 31) for a four-way meet. Rounding out the field is 12th-ranked Oregon State (2-2) and San Jose State (2-5). SPU returns to Brougham Pavilion for a dual meet with Washington Feb. 7.

A homecoming. While homecoming is being celebrated back on the SPU campus this weekend, a few of the traveling Falcons will expect lots of friends and family members for a more personal homecoming at the meet Friday. Jennifer Christman (Jr., Fairfield, Ca./Benicia) and Cindy Reed (Fr., Antioch, Ca./Deer Valley) hail from communities on the East Bay while Kristen Strid (Sr., Kingsburg, Ca./Kingsburg Joint Union) comes from the Fresno area.

Solid opener. First meets rarely feature peak performances and last week was no exception. Still, Seattle Pacific's score of 187.350 was the third-best on an opening night. Driving that score was a solid performance on vault. SPU racked up 47.975 on that first event, counting four scores of 9.575 or higher. It marked the first use of the new tongue-shaped table. Unfortunately, the floor exercise scores were an uncharacteristically low 45.875, allowing San Jose State to pull away for the final margin of victory. Going into the final event, the Falcons had led the Spartans by 0.025 points.

Top of the list. Seattle Pacific pushed five gymnasts up to the awards podium against San Jose State and headlining the list was Kristen Strid (Sr., Kingsburg, Ca./Kingsburg Joint Union), who tied for first place on the uneven bars with a score of 9.675. Strid was also runner-up on the balance beam with an identical score. Kari Kelly (So., Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) was the team's top scorer on vault. Kelly shot through space to land a career-best 9.750, tying her for second place. Rachael Anderson (Sr., Yakima, Wa./West Valley) and Courtney Amonsen (Sr., Redmond, Wa./Inglemoor) tumbled to a pair of third place finishes. Anderson scored 9.700 on floor exercise and Amonsen, back in the lineup for the first time in two years, earned a 9.475 on balance beam. Corrie McDaniel (So., Lawrence, Ks.) finished fourth in the all-around with a total of 36.900. Falls on the bars, beam and floor took their toll but Coach Laurel Tindall expects McDaniel, her top returnee, to bounce back.

Bar exam. The most suspenseful moment of opening night didn't factor into any score and it involved Christman. During one-touch warm-ups for the bars, Christman was preparing for a dismount when the apparatus began to wobble. With Christman hanging onto the high bar, the bars buckled and crashed to the floor due to a stripped bolt. A concerned coaching staff removed the hardware on top of Christman, who immediately sprang to her feet and signaled she was unhurt. Once the bars were reassembled, Christman rebounded to take fifth place with a 9.200-well off her career-best (9.800) but, given the circumstances, a solid mark. Tindall said it was the first equipment failure she could recall during her 28-year career.

Far from full-strength. Tindall is still without the services of Elisabeth Kingsley (So., Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison), Julie Evin (Fr., Vancouver, Wa./Mountain View) Anna Leiferman (Fr., Thornton, Co./Horizon). Ailing transfer Melissa Stanton (Jr., Rapid City, SD/Central-Hamline) performed an exhibition balance beam routine. Kingsley is still recovering from reconstructive knee surgery from an injury which she suffered at nationals in '02, and Evin remains out indefinitely. Stanton has been bothered by a sore back. Strid returned home this week but is expected to rejoin the team at Stanford.

Gym Shorts. Amonsen, whose only two appearances in 2002 were exhibition, had not had a top-three finish in any meet since her freshman campaign. She missed most of last season with an ankle sprain...Annastasia Ahr (Jr., San Antonio, Tx./Blessed Hope Academy) hit a solid 9.300 on beam...Reed debuted with a 9.475 on vault, a 9.300 on beam and a 9.100 on floor...Jaynie Reynolds (Fr., White Rock, BC/South Delta) landed a 9.575 on vault...Stanton scored a 9.050 on bars, an event in which she won two national titles while at Hamline (Mn.) the past two years. Once healthy, she is expected to join the vault and beam lineup.

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.