Brougham Opener. Filled with potential and advertising a mix of promising recruits and established returnees, the Seattle Pacific University gymnastics team swings into its 31st season Saturday night (Jan .17) when the Falcons host Sacramento State. It’s the first of four home meets on a schedule which culminates in mid-April at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships. Seattle Pacific brings back seven returnees, including two All-Americas, from a squad which finished third nationally. Following its home debut, SPU visits UC Davis Jan. 22 and Sacramento State Jan. 23.

Season at glance. The core of the 2004 schedule is eight match-ups with fellow Mountain Pacific Sports Federation members Sacramento State, Air Force, Alaska Anchorage, San Jose State and UC Davis. The MPSF championship meet is Mar. 20 in San Jose. In addition to the conference dual and three-way meets, Coach Laurel Tindall has scheduled meetings with several Division I powers, including perennial Pac-10 powers Oregon State and Washington. The Huskies visit Brougham Pavilion for Senior Night Mar. 8. Joining Tindall on the staff roster are fourth-year assistant Kathy Siwek and Kristin Strid, who completed her career last season. Strid is a three-time All-America who won the 2003 USAG individual title on the uneven bars.

Proven pedigree. The Falcons have made it a habit to land among the best in the nation year after year: From 1984 to 2003, the Falcons have finished among the top four teams in USA Gymnastics, an impressive 20-year streak that has potential to be extended this year. Besides Strid, Tindall has two other key gymnasts to replace. Still, she expects the young squad (eight freshmen and only two seniors) to overcome its inexperience plus a rash of preseason injuries, and reach maturity in time for the USAG national meet.

All-America tumblers. Tindall, now in her 29th year and coming off a national USAG coach of the year award, has seven returnees among her 15 squad members. The headliner of the group is two-time All-America all-arounder Corrie McDaniel (Jr., Lawrence, Ks./Lawrence). The Honda Award recipient for Division II as a freshman, McDaniel is coming off a sophomore campaign in which she took fifth place in the national all-around. Her career-high floor score of 9.925 ranks second on the all-time list. The other All-America returnee is Kari Kelly (Jr., Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower), who finished fifth nationally on vault.

Much needed experience. Five of the Falcons’ returnees are upperclassmen. Annastasia Ahr (Sr., San Antonio, Tx.), a leader on beam and floor, will be relied upon to compete in three events and Melissa Stanton (Sr., Rapid City, SD/Central-Hamline) is expected to be among the national contenders on bars. Cindy Reed (So., Antioch, Ca./Deer Valley) and Jaynie Reynolds (So., White Rock, B.C./South Delta) have raised the levels of their routines and could potentially be all-arounders. Elisabeth Kingsley (Jr., Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison) will bolster a vault lineup that has been a strength in recent years.

Lauded recruits. Tindall is hopeful that some of her recruits will pay immediate dividends. The head coach expects several of her athletes, including newcomers Sarah Sullivan (Fr., Salem, Or./Sprague) and Debra Huss (Fr., Orangevale, Ca./Bella Vista), to compete in four events. Along with McDaniel, Huss, a great dancer, is expected to anchor the floor exercise. Sullivan’s athleticism and skill will make an impact as soon as she is able to return to full workouts following a preseason ankle sprain. Kristin Bryant (Fr., Anchorage, Ak./West Anchorage), another gifted dancer, will potentially make floor and beam lineups that Tindall describes as very deep. Haley Krommenhoek (Fr., Seattle, Wa./Mount Rainier) could crack the beam lineup by midseason while Chelsea Cox (Fr., Valencia, Ca./Saugus), Emily Hatton-Ward (Fr., Salt Lake City, Ut./Juan Diego) and Briana Piedmonte (Fr., Chandler, Az./Desert Vista, Az.). Anna Leiferman (Thornton, Co./Horizon), who underwent shoulder surgery as a freshman, returns from a redshirt season.

Gym shorts. Seattle Pacific has beaten the last four visitors to the pavilion and six of the last seven over two seasons...Tindall’s best prospects for all-arounders this first week are Huss and McDaniel...Nationals return to Denton, Tx., and Texas Woman’s University for the second year in a row...The Falcons would like to eclipse last year’s start when they opened with a 187.350 at home against San Jose State...The only school record to fall in ‘03 was the team mark for floor exercise. The standard of 49.175 was set at the MPSF Championships, surpassing the 48.925 set in ‘02...After the slow start, SPU scored 190.625 or higher in each of its final nine meets, including the team’s No. 2 all-time mark of 193.000 at the MPSF meet. The Falcons posted the No. 8 all-time team score (192.400) during the USAG prelims...Individually, McDaniel moved into the top 10 all-around list at No. 5 with a late season 38.975 total 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.

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.

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 at www.mpsports.org, or the Collegiate Gymnastics Information Center at www.troester.com/gym. .