Round two. Seeking to regain some momentum to its gymnastics season, Seattle Pacific University returns home this week to face a formidable foe. In a rematch of a Bay Area encounter last week, the Falcons (2-4) host San Jose State (7-5) Friday night (Feb. 10) at Brougham Pavilion in the next-to-last home show of the season. SPU visits Boise State for a triangular affair Feb. 17 before its Senior Night celebration Feb. 25.

Good to be home. For the past couple years, Brougham has proven to be a touchstone for the Falcons. They have won six of their last eight meets at home, including the ‘06 opener against Alaska Anchorage with a record opening night score of 191.850. And among those wins was a rare victory over San Jose State in ‘04. SPU seeks to extend its streak of scoring 190 points or higher at home to 12 meets Friday.

Room for improvement. While the results weren’t ideal for the Falcons, they did come away with their second victory during back-to-back California meets. At San Jose State, Seattle Pacific (190.225) finished ahead of Illinois-Chicago (189.675) in their initial encounter, but the Spartans (192.950) took first place. Then things took a turn for the worse. SPU literally stumbled and fell the following night at UC Davis, not only losing to the Aggies (190.050) but finishing with the lowest score in more than three years (187.975).

Dropping a notch. Seattle Pacific dropped one place in the USA Gymnastics statistical rankings after holding at No. 1 the past two weeks. Texas Woman’s took advantage of the Falcons’ low scores to go in front on average score, 191.156 to 190.069. Defending national champion Rutgers (189.829) is No. 3. Event-wise, SPU tops the division in floor exercise and balance beam. It fell fourth and fifth on bars and vault, respectively. For the next four weeks the USAG rankings will be determined by the team average. The shift to the Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) begins in the eighth week of competition. At that point, the Davis score will likely fall by the wayside.

Pinch hitters. Sometimes the backstory of the scores is more noteworthy than the numbers themselves, as was true for the Falcons this past weekend. Coach Laurel Tindall found herself in a crunch when injuries manifest in two of her all-arounders at UC Davis. Filling in on behalf of Debra Huss (Jr., Orangevale, Ca./Bella Vista), who suffered an ankle injury, were Brianna Piedmonte (So., Chandler, Az./Desert Vista) and Ashley Domres (So., Scottsdale, Az./Scottsdale Christian). In her first non-exhibition competition, Piedmonte contributed to the team total with a 9.300 beam score. Meanwhile Domres had just a one-touch warm-up before managing 9.150 on floor. All-arounder Brianna Schwartz (Fr., Bonney Lake, Wa./Sumner), who injured her finger on vault and produced a score that wouldn’t contribute to the team total (7.900), stepped up on floor exercise to dance the team’s highest score in that event (9.400).

Sullivan Shines. While injuries and falls are out of Tindall’s control, one thing she has been able to rely on is a solid performance from all-arounder Sarah Sullivan (Jr., Salem, Or./Sprague). At San Jose, Sullivan posted her second-highest career all-around score (38.700) to finish second at the meet. She also placed third on bars (9.700), beam (9.675) and floor (9.750). One night later at UC Davis, she won beam (9.675) and all-around (38.350) and was second on bars (9.700). Those performances earned her Mountain Pacific Sports Federation gymnast of the week. Sullivan currently ranks first in the all-around, third on beam and ninth on floor.

Gym shorts. Huss is out indefinitely due to the injury. This week will mark the first meet she has missed in her collegiate career...The injuries to Huss and Schwartz will likely leave SPU extremely thin in the bars lineup...Kristin Bryant (Jr., Anchorage, Ak./West Anchorage) is ranked No. 1 in the division, and she tied for first on vault at UC Davis (9.700) and scored 9.725 at San Jose...Huss’ bright moment came at San Jose when she tied for top honors on floor exercise (9.850). She continues to rank first nationally in that event...Jaynie Reynolds (Sr., White Rock, BC/Marriot) finished second in the all-around at Davis (37.625) and danced a 9.600 at SJSU...Schwartz scored 9.525 on floor...Melissa Daniels (Fr., Salinas, Ca./N. Monterey County) vaulted a season-high 9.700 at Davis.

SPU Coaches. Coach Laurel Tindall is synonymous with Seattle Pacific gymnastics, having either competed or coached each of the program’s 33 years. Under her guidance, SPU has won three national championships (1986, ‘92, ‘97) and, individually, her gymnasts have taken 19 titles. Now in her 31st year, Tindall has been honored as national coach of the year four times and last year she was the MPSF coach of the year. Originally, Tindall competed for the Falcons, winning a national crown on vault as a senior. She then succeeded George Lewis as head coach. Tindall is a charter member of the Falcon Legends Hall of Fame. Kathy Siwek returns for her sixth 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 third year on the staff after having completing her career in 2003 as a three-time All-America and national champion on bars. Four-time all-American Corrie McDaniel joins the coaching staff this season.

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 calling 206-281-2085 in advance.

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 Great Northwest Athletic Conference web site. For updated gymnastics standings and statistics, see the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation web site, or the Collegiate Gymnastics Information Center.