Falcon Gymnasts Do Not Advance to USAG Team Finals
Huss, Reynolds, Sullivan and Kelly to compete individually
April 8, 2004

DENTON, Tx. (Apr. 8)— Debra Huss finished fourth on floor exercise and Jaynie Reynolds was sixth on the uneven bars and eighth on balance beam during the first day of competition, but it was not enough to lift Seattle Pacific University into Friday night’s team finals as the Falcons scored a 190.975 to finish seventh out of eight competing teams at the USA Gymnastics National Championships Thursday evening in Denton, Tx.

Debra Huss (upper left), Kari Kelly (upper right), Jaynie Reynolds (lower left), and Sarah Sullivan (lower right) qualified to compete in the individual competition at the national championships.

The top four finishers advanced to Friday night’s team finals at Kitty Magee Arena. Centenary of Louisiana finished first with 193.275 while host university and defending champion Texas Woman’s scored a 192.275. UC Davis was third with 191.850 and Temple was fourth with 191.375.

Seattle Pacific’s 190.975 team total was the lowest in its last seven meets and brought a string of 20 consecutive top four finishes to a halt. SPU opened competition on bars, then competed on beam and floor, and finished with vault and was without two-time All-American all-arounder Corrie McDaniel (Jr., Lawrence, Ks.). The sophomore dislocated her right elbow during practices two weeks ago.

Individually, Huss’ (Fr., Orangevale, Ca./Bella Vista) 9.875 floor routine placed her fourth out of 58 competitors. The top eight finishers advance to Saturday’s individual competition.

Reynolds (So., White Rock, BC/South Delta) swung a 9.725 on bars to place her seventh and one rotation later, the sophomore landed her beam routine to an eighth place 9.750.

Also slated to compete Saturday are Sarah Sullivan (Fr., Salem, Or./Sprague) and Kari Kelly (Jr., Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower). Sullivan launched a seventh place 9.650 vault and Kelly, an All-America vaulter in 2003, danced a 9.825on floor.

As a team, Seattle Pacific has finished among the top four schools in NCAA Division II in each of the last 20 seasons. The Falcons have won three team titles and have produced 16 individual champions.

TEAM PRELIMS: Centenary (193.275). Texas Woman’s (192.275), UC Davis (192.850) and Temple (191.375) advance to Friday’s team finals beginning at 5PM, PDT.