Boise bound. Exhaling a sigh of relief that unseemly scores don’t have to become routine, the Seattle Pacific University gymnastics team faces a triangular contest with two Division I programs in the Idaho capital. The Falcons (2-5) face host Boise State (5-1) and Utah State (4-8) Friday night (Feb. 17). Senior Night brings SPU back to Brougham Pavilion Feb. 25 to meet Air Force before a four-week stretch of road meets completes the regular season. The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships are Mar. 24.

It’s hang-on time. With injuries having depleted the lineup, Coach Laurel Tindall is hoping to bring along some younger gymnasts and develop depth which could prove vital in the postseason. With luck, Seattle Pacific will be closer to full-strength in its final home meet, which will likely factor into the team’s regional qualifying score later in the season.

Fertile Idaho soil. Although last year’s visit to Boise State meet didn’t produce a victory, some of the Falcons’ strongest scores came out of that quadrangular get-together. They swung a season-high bar score of 48.450 and took places 1-2-3 in the event. SPU also hit a 49.000 floor team total that was one-tenth of a point shy of the school record en route to accumulating their second-highest score of the season (192.650).

Resilient tumblers. Rebounding from the previous week’s setback which featured the lowest score in more than three years, SPU managed to extend its streak of scoring 190 points or more at home to 12 meets. Still, without the leadership of injured all-arounder Debra Huss (Jr., Orangevale, Ca./Bella Vista), the Falcons fell well short of beating San Jose State. The Spartans, led by all-around winner Renae Moneymaker, captured four individual event titles to defeat the Falcons 192.450 to 190.200. SPU started with the advantage on the first rotation and negotiated the higher of the two beam scores. But the Spartans pulled away in the second and third rotations, scoring event highs of 48.400 on vault and 48.575 on floor.

Holding steady. After five meets, Seattle Pacific is No. 2 in the USA Gymnastics statistical rankings. Last week’s meet bumped up the average to 190.095. In 2005 the Falcons landed on the second-place ranking only once after completing a five-week run at No. 1 and shortly thereafter slipped to third upon application of the Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) instead of season average. They continue to lead the division on floor and beam and remain fourth on bars and fifth on vault.

Filling all-around shoes. The current challenge for Tindall continues to be filling the many roles of Huss over four events. While the lineup kinks will still need to be worked out, several event mainstays stay focused on their jobs. Sarah Sullivan (Jr., Salem, Or./Sprague) has found her all-around rhythm, keeping her four-event score above 38 points all season. Against San Jose Sullivan totaled 38.200 over four events to finish third in the all-around. She also placed third on beam (9.725). The Falcons had four additional top-three finishes. Brianna Schwartz (Fr., Bonney Lake, Wa./Sumner) swung a season-high score on bars (9.650) to place second, while Shannon McConahey (Fr., San Jose, Ca./Willow Glen) made her collegiate debut by finishing third on bars (9.600). Kristin Bryant (Jr., Anchorage, Ak./West Anchorage) tied for third on vault (9.675) and Jaynie Reynolds (Sr., White Rock, BC/Marriot) tied for third on floor (9.725).

Gym shorts. The Falcons hit a season-high beam score (47.900) vs. SJSU. Key contributions came from Brianna Piedmonte (So., Chandler, Az./Desert Vista), who negotiated a season best (9.625), Reynolds (9.650), Schwartz (9.600) and Bryant (9.300)...Ashley Domres (So., Scottsdale, Az./Scottsdale Christian) also scored 9.225 on beam and 9.450 on bars...Amber Lundgren (Fr., Temecula, Ca./Temecula Valley) vaulted a season-high 9.525 and scored 9.350 on floor and 9.000 on bars...Schwartz launched a 9.550 on vault and danced a 9.125 on floor...Reynolds also scored 9.575 on vault and 9.000 on bars while Bryant danced a 9.600 on floor...Four Falcon gymnasts are among the division’s top 10. Sullivan is No. 1 in the all-around, second on beam and fifth on floor. Despite being out two meets, Huss is still first on floor and seventh in all-around. Bryant is the top vaulter and is eighth on floor. Reynolds is fifth on beam and ninth in all-around...Texas Woman’s is the USAG statistical leader with an average of 191.150. Rutgers is third (189.932). UC Davis (188.640) is second to SPU among MPSF teams.

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.