SPU Gymnasts Claim Four of Five Individual Titles at USAG National Meet
April 16, 2005

Team Competition     All-Around Competition

ITHACA, N.Y. (Apr. 16)--Debra Huss and Kari Kelly combined for four individual titles and Corrie McDaniel and Sarah Sullivan each garnered All-America status for Seattle Pacific University to finish out Day Three of the USA Gymnastics National Championships in Ithaca, New York.

Debra Huss (left) and Kari Kelly had terrific performances at the USAG Nationals. Each earned All-America status.

Huss (So., Orangevale, Ca.) capped a career meet with a tie for first on floor exercise with UC Davis’ Tiffany Chan, dancing a 9.850. Earlier in the evening, the sophomore all-arounder swung a 9.750 tie for first on the uneven bars with Texas Woman’s Brisa Fuentes and negotiated a runner-up finish on balance beam with 9.700. Huss won the all-around title Thursday night, scoring 38.875 over four events and joins Barbara Elliott (1986-88) as the only SPU gymnast in history to win three national titles in a single year.

Kelly launched a 9.712 vault during the first rotation on the night to win gold, scoring above Davis’ Michelle Kulovitz ( 9.637) and Jessia Liegl of Air Force (9.612).

Huss and Kelly each own top marks on Seattle Pacific University’s all-time records charts. Huss racked up 39.225 in the all-around at the Falcons’ last regular season meet of 2005, and Kelly hit 9.875 on two different occasions on vault and shares the school record with teammate Jaynie Reynolds (Jr., White Rock, B.C.).

Close behind Huss and Chan on floor exercise was McDaniel (Sr., Lawrence, Ks.). The former all-arounder tumbled a three-way 9.775 tie with Davis’ Julie Richards and Centenary’s Sarah Racioppi for third place. McDaniel won bronze on beam as well, landing her dismount en route to a 9.650 from the judges.

Sullivan (So., Salem, Or.) flipped a 9.600 on floor exercise, good for seventh place and her second career All-America accolade. Huss owns five All-America finishes, four of them coming during SPU’s three-day stay in Ithaca. Kelly and McDaniel will exit Coach Laurell Tindall’s program with a half-dozen All-America performances between them. Reynolds, who was ninth on bars, owns two.

As a team, the Falcons ended ‘05 with a third place national finish. Under Tindall’s watchful eye, they have finished among the top four schools in NCAA Division II in 21 of the last 22 seasons and have produced 18 individual champions.

INDIVIDUAL FINALS RESULTS:

VAULT: 1) KARI KELLY, SPU, 9.712; 2) Michelle Kulovitz, UCD, 9637; 3) Jessica Liegl, USAF, 9.612.

BARS: 1) (tie) DEBRA HUSS, SPU, Brisa Fuentes, TWU, 9.750; 3) Courtney Arno, TWU, 9.700; also 9) JAYNIE REYNOLDS, SPU, 8.850.

BEAM: 1) Tiffany Chan, UCD, 9,775; 2) DEBRA HUSS, SPU, 9.700; 3) CORRIE McDANIEL, SPU, 9.650.

FLOOR: 1) (tie) DEBRA HUSS, SPU, Tiffany Chan, UCD, 9.850; 3) (tie) CORRIE McDANIEL, SPU, Julie Richards, UCD, Sarah Racioppi, CU, 9.775; also 7) SARAH SULLIVAN, SPU, 9.600.