A trip to The OC. After posting a pair of scores well above the 190 bench mark last week, the Seattle Pacific University gymnastics team was briefly rewarded for its consistency with its first No. 1 ranking in six years. Now back to No. 2 among USA Gymnastics teams, the Falcons (3-6) resume action by traveling to Orange County for a three-way meet with host Cal State Fullerton (3-5) and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation foe UC Davis (5-6) Friday night (Feb. 27). SPU competes at Oregon State Mar. 5 and hosts Washington in the final home meet Mar. 8.

Flying high. Despite dropping two meets to three Division I teams last week, Coach Laurel Tindall received some good news. The Falcons hit a season-high score of 192.150 at San Jose State. SPU started against the Spartans with a very modest team total on the uneven bars and improved with every rotation. By night's end, the Birds clutched season bests on vault (47.975), beam (48.650) and floor (48.675). The total pushed Seattle Pacific's scoring average to 190.925 and past Centenary (La.) on the USAG chart. During the off week, the rankings format switched from raw average to regional qualifying, nudging Centenary (191.380) back to No. 1. Texas Woman's (190.380) is right behind the Falcons (190.995) in third. UC Davis, Temple, Alaska Anchorage, Air Force and Cornell round out the top eight. Seattle Pacific has finished among the top four USAG teams the last 20 years in a row and has won three national team championships to date.

Rough stretch ahead. Seattle Pacific has a rough patch of road ahead, with UC Davis the only Div. II team among the nine remaining on the schedule. Cal State Fullerton is No. 8 in the West Region but the Titans are coming off an upset of UCLA (194.275 to 193.600). Following this weekend is a stretch of three meets in eight days, beginning at Oregon State. As far as the MPSF Championships are concerned, it could be a hotly-contest meet next month. Host San Jose State will likely be the favorite, but Sacramento State, SPU and Alaska Anchorage are close behind in the conference rankings.

Debra Huss has earned a top finish in two meets, including a win on balance beam at San Jose State.

Solid gold Huss. The Falcons had their hands full in their most recent meets as competition ranged from defending MPSF champ San Jose State to defending NCAA Division I champion UCLA. In fact, just one gymnast earned a top finish in two meets and, based on recent history, it was no surprise that it was Debra Huss (Fr., Orangevale, Ca./Bella Vista). At San Jose, Huss negotiated her way to a 9.850 on the four-inch wide balance beam, landing atop the podium at meet's end. To date, Huss has garnered a collective half-dozen wins in seven meets. The freshman all-arounder is No. 4 in floor scoring average among MPSF competitors, is No. 3 on the USA Gymnastics charts and has flirted with the school record on floor on several occasions.

Seconds and thirds, please. Annastasia Ahr (Sr., San Antonio, Tx.) tied for second with the Spartans' Greta Leach on beam, just a quarter of a point behind the leader with a 9.825. All six SPU gymnasts finished with 9.625 or better. Melissa Stanton (Sr., Rapid City, SD/Central-Hamline) swung second place on bars with 9.700-a highlight within the team's disappointing 46.850 total. Returning All-America Kari Kelly (Jr., Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) launched a third-place vault (9.650) and two-time All-America all-arounder Corrie McDaniel (Jr., Lawrence, Ks./Lawrence) danced 9.850 on the floor mats to finish third. At Berkeley, no gymnasts earned top-three finishes against UCLA and the host Bears. The meet featured a perfect 10 on vault as the Cal's Jeanette Antolin won three individual events as well as the all-around title with an impressive 39.775. McDaniel capped Seattle Pacific's highest finish at seventh in the all-around (37.550).

Gym shorts. Elisabeth Kingsley (Jr., Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison) scored 9.700 on floor as SPU posted a 48.200 team score versus Cal and UCLA and improved .25 one night later at San Jose...Sarah Sullivan (Fr., Salem, Or./Sprague), although still not 100 percent following an ankle injury, vaulted and swung bars at San Jose. Sullivan placed fifth on vault (9.600) and earned a 9.700 on bars for seventh place. She also danced a 9.775 on floor to tie her with SJSU's Adrienne Mertens for fifth...Haley Krommenhoek (Fr., Seattle, Wa./Mount Rainier) swung a 9.500 on bars against Cal and UCLA...Kristin Bryant (Fr., Anchorage, Ak./West Anchorage) hit a 9.625 on beam and scored a 9.650 on floor at San Jose...Cindy Reed (So., Antioch, Ca./Deer Valley) did not compete over the weekend and is out indefinitely due to illness...In other USAG individual rankings, Stanton was fourth on bars and McDaniel was 9th in the all-around. Kelly and Ahr were seventh on vault and beam, respectively, and Huss was 13th on beam.

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. .