This is it. Sometimes when it rains, it pours. And having ended its drought of titles, the Seattle Pacific University gymnastics team seeks a downright deluge in the coming days. The Falcons, fresh from their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship, are now in the final phase of the season and seek their fourth national title at the USA Gymnastics Championships, Apr. 13-15 in Ithaca, New York. The meet begins with preliminaries Thursday (Apr. 13), followed by team finals Good Friday (Apr. 14) and individual finals Saturday (Apr. 15).

Reynolds wrap. While everyone else takes a breather this weekend, Jaynie Reynolds (Sr., White Rock, B.C./Marriot) starts an exciting yet possibly exhausting stretch to wrap-up her career. Reynolds qualified as an at-large all-arounder for the NCAA West Regional this Saturday (Apr. 8) at Stanford. She will rotate with the host Cardinal squad. If the Falcons advance to the team finals and Reynolds qualifies for any USAG individual event finals, she would be involved in the equivalent of four meets over eight days. She finished 16th among all-arounders in the West and earned one of five at-large berths.

Day by day. If anyone knows how to do nationals it’s Coach Laurel Tindall. In her 31 seasons, Tindall has taken SPU to either the NCAA or USAG meet 25 times. The Falcons have finished among the top four teams 21 of the last 22 years, including a third-place tie in 2005. They have won three national crowns (1986, 1992, 1997) but none in the last eight years. The first order of business at nationals is to claim one of the top four places in prelims, thereby advancing to the Friday finals. Last year Rutgers finished third in prelims, then returned the next night to win the USAG title. Individually, the top eight scorers (plus ties) will come back on Day Three to contend to those top awards. Seven-time champion Texas Woman’s is the top seed this year, followed by UC Davis and Rutgers. Centenary (La.), William & Mary (Va.), host Cornell and Temple (Pa.) complete the eight-team field.

Hardware in store. Seattle Pacific features at least three individual title contenders. Reynolds and Sarah Sullivan (Jr., Salem, Or./Sprague) have a good chance in any given event, including the all-around. Both have scored 38 points or more seven times this season and rank among the USAG top 10 in each event. Reynolds is No. 1 in all-around, fifth on floor, seventh on vault and bars and 10th on beam, while Sullivan is No. 3 in all-around, second on beam, sixth on floor, ninth on bars and 10th on vault. Kristin Bryant (Jr., Anchorage, Ak./West Anchorage) is likely to shine on vault and floor where she is ranked fourth and ninth, respectively. Ashley Domres (So., Scottsdale, Az./Scottsdale Christian) is another contender, having placed in the top three on beam in four meets.

On the shelf. Certainly Seattle Pacific’s task has been made more difficult by the loss of Debra Huss (Jr., Orangevale, Ca./Bella Vista), a three-time national champion last season. Huss was lost for the remainder of the season after aggravating an ankle injury prior to the MPSF Championships. A year ago, Huss claimed USAG titles on bars, floor and all-around. This season, she was limited to bars after sustaining an ankle injury in the fourth meet.

Theirs at last. Despite the loss of Huss, the Falcons may have hit their stride. They won their first conference championship since 1998 with their third straight score of 190-plus. With a sum of 191.700, SPU defeated UC Davis (191.025), Alaska Anchorage (190.950) and host Air Force (184.200) Mar. 24. Reynolds won bars (9.850) with the No. 10 all-time score. She finished second in the all-around (38.675) and tied for second on vault (9.750) with Bryant, who also tied for third on floor (9.700). Sullivan took second on beam and third on vault with two 9.700s. Domres tied for third on beam (9.650) and Brianna Schwartz (Fr., Bonney Lake, Wa./Sumner) tied for third on bars (9.775). Bryant, Reynolds and Sullivan made the all-conference first team.

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.