On the road again. Flying high after hitting a season-high team score at home, and poised to resume Mountain Pacific Sports Federation competition, the Seattle Pacific University gymnastics team prepares to fly down the West Coast for two meets this weekend. The Falcons (1-7) face host UC Davis (1-6) and Cal State Fullerton (1-8) in a three-way meet Friday night (Feb. 18) and one night later, on Saturday (Feb. 19), meet UC Davis again in another tri-meet, this time hosted by defending MSPF champion San Jose State (4-1). Seattle Pacific remains on the road next week, visiting Oregon State.

Still No. 1. For the fourth week in a row, the Falcons hold the top spot in the USA Gymnastics national rankings and are No. 2 in each of the four events. It marks the first time since affiliating with the USAG in 1987 that SPU has held the No. 1 spot for four consecutive weeks. Seattle Pacific’s scoring average after five meets is 190.985.

A little at a time. With each meet, Coach Laurel Tindall’s Falcons have improved their team score. A new season high of 192.100 was tallied last week against a formidable Oregon State squad (195.675), and en route, Seattle Pacific racked up season-high event scores on vault (48.225) and beam (48.325). The Beavers managed to land eight different athletes on the awards podium at meet’s end, and were paced by Chrissy Lamun and Chelsey Plourde’s ties for first on two different disciplines. The duo, along with teammate Lindsay Nelson, swung identical 9.850s on the uneven bars and, one event later, turned around to hit 9.850 again on beam, tying with teammate Daylee Ingalls for first.

Reynolds ties school record. Unwilling to be overshadowed by the Oregon State performances was All-American Jaynie Reynolds (Jr., White Rock, B.C./Marriot). She garnered one of Seattle Pacific’s two first-place finishes during the opening rotation, launching a school record 9.875 vault, tying her with current teammate Kari Kelly (Sr., Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) on the all-time charts. Kelly set the record against the Beavers in Corvallis last season. Reynolds led an SPU vault lineup in which each scoring athlete landed a 9.500 or better. Kelly scored a 9.650 on the runway to put her at No. 3 in USAG scoring average.

Huss, McDaniel win. Reynolds managed third in the all-around contest, despite ending the night with a double ankle sprain at the end of her floor exercise. Debra Huss (So., Orangevale, Ca.) won the all-around contest with a season high 38.725 to put her at No. 1 in the USAG. Reynolds is No. 4. Huss is also atop the national rankings for beam and floor. Sarah Sullivan (So., Salem, Or./Sprague), after her own season high of 38.625, is No. 2. Although Huss danced the second-best score on floor exercise, she had to settle for fourth place by virtue of a three-way tie for first between OSU’s Heidi Goehring, Angela Morales and the Falcons’ Corrie McDaniel (Sr., Lawrence, Ks./Lawrence). Her 9.800 marked McDaniel’s first victory after injuring an elbow before nationals in 2004.

High scoring beam routines. Oregon State has long been renowned for their impressive beam routines, yet it was the Falcons who exhibited some steady legs on the way to their season-high beam total. Each scoring athlete in the rotation was above 9.600. Kristin Bryant (So., Anchorage, Ak./West Anchorage) and Ashley Domres (Fr., Phoenix, Az./Scottsdale Christian) both negotiated the aforementioned mark from the judges, and Sullivan and Huss were close by with 9.650 and 9.675, respectively. McDaniel’s 9.800 was the top SPU score on the plank, and it landed her in fifth place.

Gym shorts. Tindall hopes that Elisabeth Kingsley (Sr., Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison) can help fill the void left by Reynolds’ injury. Kingsley missed the OSU meet with a knee injury but is expected to make the trip this week, along with Aubrie Stavig (Fr., Albuquerque, NM/Sandia)...This weekend marks the only back-to-back set of meets prior to the USA Gymnastics Championships Apr. 9-11 in Ithaca, N.Y...Bryant launched a 9.675 vault during the opening rotation...Sullivan’s bars score of 9.725 was a season high as was her floor routine (9.750)...One week after swinging SPU’s highest individual score on bars, Christie Chinaka (Fr., Honolulu, Hi.) scored a 9.100, and vaulted a 9.0...In the MPSF rankings, San Jose State (191.755) holds a slim edge over Sacramento State (191.232) and SPU, and Huss is the leading all-arounder. Sac State visits Brougham Pavilion Mar. 5...Nationally, the Falcons are 0.460 ahead of Centenary (190.525) with Alaska Anchorage (190.114) third.

Tickets, Please. General admission tickets for all SPU women’s gymnastics meets are priced $5, with students, youth and senior citizens $3 with proper identification. Teams can qualify for special discount rates by calling (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 30 years. Under her guidance, SPU has won three national championships and, individually, her gymnasts have taken 15 titles. Four times Tindall has been honored as national coach of the year. Kathy Siwek returns for her fifth season as an assistant coach. Siwek was a two-time All-America and a member of the 1997 national championship team. Kristen Strid is back for her second year on the staff after having completing 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. .