Home sweet Brougham. After dropping a pair of dual meets on the road, the Seattle Pacific University gymnastics team hopes to gather some steam and garner a pair of wins on its home floor as it swings into Brougham Pavilion for the next two meets. The Falcons (0-3) face fellow Mountain Pacific Sports Federation member San Jose State (4-6) Friday night (Jan. 30). Next week they host Alaska Anchorage and UC Davis in a three-way competition Feb. 7.

Home advantage. Coach Laurel Tindall saw her squad post a pair of respectable team scores in California despite dropping both meets. Seattle Pacific scored a 190.375 team total at UC Davis, posting a season-high tally on beam (48.075). One night later at Sacramento State, SPU scored 189.350 despite some strong individual performances. Tindall hopes the home meets and home crowd will give the Falcons some advantage against San Jose. In the season opener two weeks ago, Seattle Pacific established its best ever first meet score with a 190.850.

Strange but true. The Falcons find themselves in a strange predicament. They are No. 2 in the USA Gymnastics statistical rankings, trailing only Louisiana’s Centenary. Their three-meet average is nearly two full points above that of a year ago. And yet they have yet to win a meet. Hopefully back-to-back home meets will turn the tide. Seattle Pacific has beaten four of the last five visiting teams and seven of the last eight. In 2003, SPU rebounded from an 0-5 start by winning four of its next five and it eventually finished third nationally.

Flying high. Tindall’s freshman class has been showcasing some great skills and much promise in the first three meets. Debra Huss (Fr., Orangevale, Ca./Bella Vista), who won floor exercise with a floor performance (9.900) good enough to land her on the school’s top ten performance list in just her first meet, has continued to impress. Over the weekend, Huss notched victories on balance beam and floor exercise, including a score of 9.825 on beam at UC Davis. Huss finished second as an all-arounder against the Aggies and is the current USAG leader in floor scoring average. Fellow freshman Kristin Bryant (Fr., Anchorage, Ak./West Anchorage) scored a trio of career bests in the two meets, the highest mark coming on the floor exercise mat with a 9.700. Bryant hit a 9.600 on beam and launched a 9.575 vault as well.

Hot finishes. Two-time All-America all-arounder Corrie McDaniel (Jr., Lawrence, Ks./Lawrence) has been plagued by falls and has yet to bolster a big all-around total, but garnered a podium finish on beam with a season-high 9.750 versus Davis. All-America vaulter Kari Kelly (Jr., Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) scored third in that meet with 9.575, and was second to Huss on floor with a 9.700. Bars standout Melissa Stanton (Sr., Rapid City, SD/Central-Hamline) showcased some beam savvy on the trip, earning 9.750 at Sacramento to finish in a tie for second with the Hornets’ Trista Condren and Nirvana Zaher.

Depth not a question. Tindall described the Falcons’ floor and beam lineups at season’s outset as extremely deep and they have been SPU’s mainstays thus far. Seattle Pacific hit 48.075 on each on the road–on beam at Davis and on floor at Sacramento. Senior co-captain Annastasia Ahr (Sr., San Antonio, Tx.) hit her beam routine for 9.500 on Thursday and a season-high 9.725 on Friday. Ahr tumbled 9.525 on floor versus the Hornets. Elisabeth Kingsley (Jr., Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison) flipped a season-high 9.550 on floor at Sacramento and teammate Jaynie Reynolds (So., White Rock, B.C./South Delta) negotiated the beam to the tune of 9.400 at Davis.

Gym shorts. In other USAG individual rankings, Kelly was fourth on vault and Ahr was ninth on beam. Stanton and Huss were No. 11 on bars and in the all-around. All rankings are based upon raw average at this point in the season. In the team scoring table, Centenary (191.106) is followed by SPU (190.192), Texas Woman’s (189.587), Alaska Anchorage (189.562) and Air Force (189.462)...McDaniel ranks No. 2 all-time on floor with a freshman score of 9.925, so it’s ironic that her difficulties have come on that event. She’s averaged only 8.483 and has yet to contribute a counting score for the team...The Falcons were forced to count several falls on vault and bars at Sacramento, and they found themselves behind by 4.250 points by that stage. Bars had also been the downfall at UC Davis the previous night. Following a team score of 47.400 in the first meet, SPU has averaged 46.837 since...Cindy Reed vaulted 9.275 at Davis and 9.550 at Sacramento...Haley Krommenhoek (Fr., Seattle, Wa./Mount Rainier) performed an exhibition 9.300 bar routine.

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 28 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 fourth season as an assistant coach. Siwek was a two-time All-America and a memberof the 1997 national championship team. Kristen Strid joins the staff after having completed her career in 2003 as a three-time All-America and national champion on bars.

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. .