The welcome mat. Possessing some positive momentum following its first two wins and its initial score of 190, the No. 6-ranked Seattle Pacific University gymnastics team returns to its home mat for a two-meet home stand. Friday night (Feb. 21) the Falcons (2-6) face Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and longtime regional rival UC Davis (2-9) for the second week in a row. SPU remains in Brougham Pavilion the following weekend, hosting Sacramento State March 1.

All smiles? Rarely does the guest get to leave the gym smiling in the SPU-UC Davis series. Last weekend's win was only the second in nine visits to Recreation Hall. Meanwhile, the Aggies have not been victorious in a regular season meet at the pavilion since 1993 and are 1-8 overall. Just as rare as a road win is a season series sweep, which the Falcons will be seeking Friday. The two teams will meet again at the MPSF Championships next month in Sacramento.

Sigh of relief. Coach Laurel Tindall probably breathed at least a short sigh of relief following the Falcons' score of 190.025 last weekend at San Jose State. It was the first time Tindall's team had surpassed 190 in four meets, an improvement of nearly three full points on the season's first score and it was enough to give SPU its first victory, over defending national champion Air Force (189.800). San Jose State was first with 192.575. The next night the Falcons earned a rare road victory over UC Davis, which had entered the week ranked No. 2 nationally among USA Gymnastics (Division II) teams. At San Jose, SPU posted season high marks on the uneven bars (48.275) and beam (47.800).

Solid gold. Tindall has maintained all along that if the Birds were to be successful over the course of the season, the squad's stars would need to shine. Over the weekend, returning All-Americas Kristen Strid (Sr., Kingsburg, Ca./Kingsburg Joint Union) and Corrie McDaniel (So., Lawrence, Ks.) did just that. In the first meet, Strid took first place on beam (9.750) and third on bars (9.775). The next night she swung a 9.625 on bars for another bronze medal. Strid stands sixth nationally in both bars (9.645) and beam (9.685) average. McDaniel did not fare particularly well against San Jose and Air Force, although she did finish second to Strid on beam (9.725). Yet McDaniel bounced back with wins on vault (tie, 9.600) and beam (9.800) the next night at Rec Hall. It was the first double win by a Falcon this season. She also was runner-up in the all-around at 37.550.

Bar queen. Odds are pretty good that if spectators stick around for the post-meet awards, they'll hear the name of Melissa Stanton (Jr., Rapid City, SD/Central-Hamline). Stanton finished second at both meets in her specialty, the bars, scoring a season-high 9.800 at San Jose and 9.725 at Davis. Stanton, a transfer this season, won back-to-back national championships on the unevens at the Division III level for Hamline (Mn.). She currently ranks No. 9 in USAG bars average at 9.605.

Better learn to Reed. She's just a freshman but look for great things to come from Cindy Reed (Fr., Antioch, Ca./Deer Valley). Tindall has written Reed into the all-around lineup in each of the last three meets and the rookie has responded with some top marks. On this recent trip, Reed finished fourth on vault (9.350) and in the all-around ( 36.625) at Davis. In San Jose, she finished just 0.25 behind McDaniel in eighth place. Reed, competing near her Bay Area home, posted a 9.550 on vault, 9.725 on bars and 9.375 on floor on the weekend and with improvement on beam, could pose a formidable 1-2 punch with McDaniel.

Gym shorts. Rachael Anderson (Sr., Yakima, Wa./West Valley) vaulted a 9.650 and hit a 9.850 on floor for a three-way tie for fourth place at San Jose. Anderson is currently No. 5 on the USAG floor exercise rankings and 10th on vault but will likely miss Friday's meet because of a knee injury in California...Kari Kelley (Fr., Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) was injured on her vault two weeks ago, prompting her to miss the weekend meets. She is expected to the lineup return this week...Jaynie Reynolds (Fr., White Rock, BC/South Delta) vaulted a third-place finish (9.525) at Davis... Annastasia Ahr (Jr., San Antonio, Tx./Blessed Hope Academy) swung a 9.500 on bars at San Jose for seventh place and hit a 9.675 on beam and a 9.550 on floor. Jennifer Christman (Jr., Fairfield, Ca./Benicia) scored a 9.600 on bars at Davis, just behind Strid...Elisabeth Kingsley (So., Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison) scored above a 9.0 on both floor exercise routines on the weekend. Kingsley was back in the lineup for the second week in a row after having off-season surgery to repair a blown knee, suffered at nationals last season...Anna Leiferman (Fr., Thornton, Co./Horizon) will undergo surgery to repair an injured shoulder and will redshirt the remainder of 2003. Julie Evin (Fr., Vancouver, Wa./Mountain View) remains out indefinitely... Texas Woman's held the No. 1 ranking among USAG teams for the second week in a row, followed by Centenary, UC Davis, Temple and Air Force. The Falcons are No. 3 behind Texas Woman's and Davis in vault average and No. 4 on bars. Individually, Strid is No. 2 in the MPSF on bars.

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.