As expected. They have been there time after time, year after year and so it's no surprise that once again the Seattle Pacific University gymnastics team found themselves among the top Division II teams at the close of the 2003 season. The Falcons finished their campaign Apr. 19, in Denton, Tx., by taking third place at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships. The bronze-medal finish was the 21st straight top-four national placement for SPU.

Wrap up. As it turned out, the host school, Texas Woman's tumbled off a meet-record final score of 195.600 to win the national championship convincingly. Last year's champion, Air Force, finished second with 192.850 followed by SPU (192.400) and Temple (191.900). Although the Falcons hit a season-high 48.625 on bars and approached season-best totals on vault and floor, they counted three falls on beam. Seattle Pacific had finished second (192.675) during prelims to qualify for team championships. UC Davis (191.550), Centenary (191.475), Cornell (190.725) and Bridgeport (184.925) were eliminated in the first round. The Falcons have finished fourth or higher each season since 1983, including national titles in 1986, 1992 and 1997.

Numero uno. In her 28th season as head coach, Laurel Tindall garnered USAG Coach of the Year honors at the national meet for the fourth time since 1997. The accolade was the first for Tindall without taking Seattle Pacific to a national crown. However, Seattle Pacific did claim its first individual championship in five years and 17th overall. Kristen Strid (Sr., Kingsburg, Ca./Kingsburg Joint Union) capped her career by landing first place on the uneven bars. She tied with Texas Woman's Stephanie Loudat (9.850). Strid graduates as a three-time All-America, having earned honors on bars as a freshman and on beam as a junior.

Four are All-America. In all, there were four All-America medals draped around the necks of SPU gymnasts. Corrie McDaniel (So., Lawrence, Ks./Lawrence) put together a 38.525 total over four events to finish fifth in the all-around, equaling her finish in '02. McDaniel just missed making the floor finals, finishing ninth (eight advanced) on opening night with a 9.825. Rachael Anderson (Sr., Yakima, Wa./West Valley) launched a 9.662 vault two nights later during individual finals to take third place and her first All-America accolade while Kari Kelly (Fr., Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) scored a 9.400 to finish fifth. Anderson's performance was remarkable in that the she had not vaulted during her previous three seasons. UC Davis' Lynn Schwaebe won vault with a 9.762. Texas Woman's Luci Romberg totaled 39.250 to win the all-around competition.

Final four. Despite solid scores across the board during prelims and a No. 2 seed going into Friday night's team finals, Seattle Pacific was unable to mount a serious run at Texas Woman's. On both vault and bars, all five counting scores were above 9.575 and on floor exercise all five were above 9.775, including McDaniel's 9.875, a pair of 9.850s by Anderson and Kelly and Elisabeth Kingsley's (So., Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison) career-high 9.800. As a team, the Falcons scored 48.225 on vault, 48.625 on bars and 49.150 on floor, but fell off beam, totaling 46.400, the lowest event tally of the meet.

Rebuilding begins. Seattle Pacific has already begun addressing its needs for the 2004 season. Sarah Sullivan of Salem, Ore., became the first recruit to sign a national letter of intent last month. Sullivan is a Level 10 gymnast who competed at national meet in April. Tindall expects to eventually add as many as five freshmen for next season. In addition, she hopes to have the services of two medical redshirts. Julie Evin (Fr., Vancouver, Wa./Mountain View), one of the top recruits from '01, is recovering from a back injury and Anna Leiferman (Fr., Thornton, Co./Horizon) underwent shoulder surgery. Tindall loses three seniors: Anderson, Strid, and Courtney Amonsen (Sr., Redmond, Wa./Inglemoor). Anderson and Strid have four All-America accolades between them. The beam lineup, which featured each of the seniors, is due for the biggest overhaul.

For the record. The only school record to fall this past season was the team mark for floor exercise. The new standard of 49.175 was set at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, surpassing the 48.925 total set in '02. The No. 2 team score (193.000) was established at the MPSF meet as well. The Falcons posted the No. 8 score (192.400) during the USAG prelims. Individually, McDaniel moved into the top 10 all-around list at No. 5 with a 38.975 total Mar. 14 and also tied her own No. 2 mark on floor exercise with 9.925 at the conference meet. Kelly's 9.775 vault during team prelims at USAGs earned her a tie for No. 7 on the school charts and her 9.850 on floor the next night tied No. 8. Anderson scored 9.850 the same night as well and also hit a 9.850 in Sacramento in late March. Strid and Melissa Stanton (Jr., Rapid City, SD/Central-Hamline) swung 9.850s on the uneven bars to tie them for No. 10. Strid hit her mark during her championship performance and Stanton at home in March.

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.