Flying solo. By virtue of her regional individual event ranking, Seattle Pacific University gymnast Corrie McDaniel (So., Lawrence, Ks./Lawrence) received an invitation to the NCAA West Regional Saturday night (Apr. 12) at the Bank of America Arena on the University of Washington campus. The balance of the SPU squad will continue preparing for the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships, to be held Apr. 15-17, in Denton, Tx.

Prized all-arounder. McDaniel will compete in the all-around competition where she ranks 10th in the USA Gymnastics division with a regional qualifying score (RQS) of 37.695. McDaniel has been one of the Falcons' brightest stars this season, having set the No. 2 all-time mark on floor exercise with a career-high 9.925 over at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation meet and having won six individual events over the course of the season. She has finished among the top three of at least one event in 11 of 12 meets and aspires to win her second All-America accolade at the national meet where she finished fifth in the all-around as a freshman.

Elite teams involved. The West Regional will feature the NCAA's top competition in top-seeded, second-ranked Nebraska, the No. 11 Huskies, 14th-ranked Louisiana State, Boise State and Cal State Fullerton. In addition to SPU, Sacramento State and UC Davis are sending individuals. The Falcons' Melissa Stanton (Jr., Rapid City, SD/Central-Hamline) remains an alternate selection for the uneven bars. The top two teams will advance from the regional to the NCAA Championships along with the top two all-arounders from non-qualifying teams. Event winners from non-qualifying teams will advance if their scores are 9.800 or higher. Breaking News -- Stanton to Compete in NCAA Gymnastics Regional

Runnin' with the big dogs. McDaniel will have her work cut out amongst the Division I elites. The Cornhuskers finished fifth in the NCAA a year ago and boast Big- 12 Conference gymnast of the year, Richelle Simpson. Simpson is coming off a school-record 39.800 in the all-around competition at the Big-12 Championships where she also won three individual events. Washington's Carly Dockendorf has scored three perfect 10's over her two-year career. LSU's April Burkholder is SEC freshman of the year. Thankfully, McDaniel will be among a few familiar faces at the regional: Sacramento State's Jessica Hoffman, Kimiye Narasaki and Nirvana Zaher, UC Davis' Michelle Naito, Lynn Schwaebe and Tiffany Chan and Alaska Anchorage's Mandi Burdick and Jessica Currie are slated to compete at-large.

The USAG rankings. Seattle Pacific will arrive at the USAG nationals with the division's No. 3 ranking after posting the school's No. 2 all-time team score 193.000 and a record floor exercise total of 49.175 to finish third at the MPSF championships Mar. 29. The Falcons finished behind host Sacramento State (194.925) and San Jose State (194.500) but beat defending USAG champion Air Force (192.050), UC Davis (189.650) and Alaska Anchorage (187.300). Texas Woman's leads the USAG with an RQS of 194.414, followed by Air Force (192.190) and Seattle Pacific (191.725). Coach Laurel Tindall has guided the Falcons to team titles in 1986, '92 and '97, and SPU has been to nationals the last 19 consecutive years. In 2002, Seattle Pacific finished fourth nationally.

MPSF recap. Jennifer Christman (Jr., Fairfield, Ca./Benicia) had a career night in Sacramento, notching fifth on vault with 9.725 and ninth on bars with 9.750. Another California native, Kristen Strid (Sr., Kingsburg, Ca./Kingsburg Joint Union), flipped a 9.800 for seventh on beam and Rachael Anderson (Sr., Yakima, Wa./West Valley) negotiated the six-inch wide apparatus for a career-high 9.775 and flipped a 9.850 on floor. As a team, the Falcons posted season-highs on floor, vault (48.125) and beam (48.525). On the individual side, Sacramento and San Jose State's Zaher and Dani Albright tied for top honors on vault with 9.775. On bars, the Hornets' Binta Coleman and the Spartans' Shirla Choy tied for first with a 9.900 and San Jose's Amberly Klein on beam with a 9.875. Albright finished at the top on floor with a 9.975. Choy also won the all-around competition, scoring a 39.400 total for four events, McDaniel tallying 37.475 to finish 10th overall.

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 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation web site or the Collegiate Gymnastics Information Center.