Going for the gold. Full of late-season momentum, including a record breaking performance at its conference meet, the Seattle Pacific University gymnastics team possesses the potential to put together a big score as it seeks the school's fourth national title when it arrives in Denton, Tx., for the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships. Competition begins Thursday (Apr. 17) and continues through Saturday (Apr. 19). The Falcons (6-11) are seeded No. 3 and feature at least four athletes capable of winning individual titles during the meet, which serves as the Division II championship. The eight-team field includes defending champion Air Force, UC Davis, Temple (Pa.), Centenary (La.), Cornell (NY), Bridgeport (Ct.) and Texas Woman's, the top seed and host.

Piece by piece. The formula for success at nationals is to take each event and each day, piece by piece. 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 women and men, who hold their championship in conjunction. The Falcons drew an opening-night rotation of floor exercise, vault, uneven bars and balance beam.

A program with pedigree. Coach Laurel Tindall has taken the Falcons to a finish in the top four schools in NCAA Division II in each of the last 19 seasons. SPU owns three team titles (1986, 1992 and 1997) and has produced 16 individual champions. The most recent was Deni Boswell, who captured both the all-around and the uneven bars in 1998. In 2002, the Falcons finished fourth behind Air Force, Texas Woman's and UC Davis. Only Texas Woman's, with six national crowns in the last decade, can claim more titles than Seattle Pacific.

Coming on strong. SPU is coming off the school's No. 2 all-time team score 193.000 and a record floor exercise total 49.175 in its last outing, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Conference Championships Mar. 29. The Falcons finished behind host Sacramento State (194.925) and San Jose State (194.500) but beat USAG No. 2 seed Air Force (192.050), No. 4 seed UC Davis (189.650) and Alaska Anchorage (187.300).

Contenders. Individually, the Falcons feature at least three title contenders. Corrie McDaniel (So., Lawrence, Ks./Lawrence), an All-America as a freshman, is considered one of the top challengers in the all-around competition if she can put together four event scores without falls. McDaniel was fifth in '02 and set the school's No. 2 floor exercise mark on the all-time charts at the MPSF Championships with 9.925. Last weekend at the NCAA West Region Championships, McDaniel totaled 36.450 in the all-around as an at-large competitor. She ranks 10th in the latest USAG ratings. Melissa Stanton (Jr., Rapid City, SD/Central-Hamline) competed as a regional at-large entry on bars and swung a 9.650 to place her 25th overall. Stanton is a two-time Division III champion on bars and ranks sixth in the USAG. Kristen Strid (Sr., Kingsburg, Ca./Kingsburg Joint Union) earned All-America status on bars as a freshman and on balance beam as a junior. She ranks eighth nationally while teammate Rachael Anderson (Sr., Yakima, Wa./West Valley) is 13th on floor exercise and 14th on vault.

It's academic. Five SPU gymnasts were featured on the MPSF academic all-conference team. Earning that distinction was McDaniel, Anderson, Courtney Amonsen (Sr., Redmond, Wa./Inglemoor), Jennifer Christman (Jr., Fairfield, Ca./Benicia) and Elisabeth Kingsley (So., Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison). Only Alaska Anchorage, with eight, had more selections.

The ones to watch. Texas Woman's has averaged 192.337 this season with a high score of 196.000. The Pioneers have four athletes ranked near the top of the USAG: Luci Rombert and Jessica Brozovich on vault, Stephanie Loudat on bars and Amber McMeans on floor. Air Force's Allison Todd and Laura Frank rank 1-2 in the all-around. Todd is also ranks No. 1 on floor exercise and beam. Just one individual championship will be defended this week: UC Davis' Stacy Wong on the bars.

Season recap. Despite beginning the year rife with injuries, Seattle Pacific has looked strong all season long. The Falcons kicked off the schedule with a 187.350 but rebounded by midseason to post seven scores in excess of 190.600. At the MPSF Championships, the Falcons earned their best-ever road score. On floor, McDaniel (9.925) tied her own No. 2 all-time score in the university annals. McDaniel's season-high all-around score ranks No. 4. The team also achieved a new record of 49.175 on floor.

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.