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Road begins close to home. Following a couple encouraging meets on their home floor, the Seattle Pacific University gymnasts sets off on the road for the next four meets. It’s a sojourn which begins close to home. Just a few miles separate the Falcons (1-6) from their Friday night (Feb. 23) destination, the University of Washington’s Bank of America Arena. There SPU will face the host Huskies (2-4) and 16th-ranked Oregon State (4-5). Next will be a Mar. 2 quadrangular hosted by Boise State.

Team building. If all works well, the next four weekends could galvanize team character and chemistry. Seattle Pacific is being sent to some tough locations while seeking to establish some depth and consistency, particularly on bars and beam. Ideally, the Falcons would like to begin hitting their peak when they next return home, for the Washington dual Mar. 23 and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships Mar. 30. Before then they will travel to sites in four different states and share the floor with, among others, two nationally-ranked Div. I programs plus their top competition for a second straight MPSF crown.

Laying the groundwork. Although it was not enough to out-do a season-high score by San Jose State (193.625), Coach Laurel Tindall’s squad did post its second 190-plus score in a row. The Falcons totaled team season-highs on vault (48.275) and floor (48.700) but counted three falls and could not manage above 47.000 on either bars or beam. The Spartans pulled away during those rotations and won three of four events overall.

National rankings, sort of. This week’s national rankings are based upon the regional qualifying score formula, and with an insufficient number of meets Seattle Pacific and three others in last week’s top six are not listed. However, based on raw scoring average SPU remains No. 4 (189.700), behind Maryland’s Towson (191.400), Rutgers (190.154) and defending champion Texas Woman’s (190.033) in the USAG division.

On the mend. Long ago, Tindall stated that Sarah Sullivan (Sr., Salem, Or./Sprague) and her comeback from a preseason hand fracture as perhaps the key to the team’s late-season success. So Sullivan’s performance last week bodes well for March and April. She was named MPSF gymnast of the week after her strongest showing to date. Sullivan began with a solid score of 9.725 to earn a second-place tie on vault. She then capped her night with a 9.800 and third-place finish on floor. An All-American on all-around last season, Sullivan is being counted upon to crack the bars lineup next month.

A happy ending. Just when things weren’t looking so good going into the final event against San Jose State, Sullivan, Debra Huss (Sr., Orangevale, Ca./Bella Vista) and the rest of the floor crew sent the fans home on a high note. Each of the final five SPU performers scored 9.600 or higher, and Huss saved the best for last. With her highest score in three years (9.875), she danced away with first place. It was her fourth floor win in five meets and the score ties for No. 7 all-time at Seattle Pacific. Huss also finished in a tie for third with Ashley Domres (Jr., Scottsdale, Az./Scottsdale Christian) and San Jose’s Liz Major on the uneven bars. Each earned a final mark of 9.675. Huss’ third-place all-around sum was 38.600.

Book it now. Tickets for the USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate Championships, presented by Leisure Care, are now on sale at the SPU Athletics office. Single session tickets are priced $10, with students, youth and senior citizens $7 and children under 12 $5. All event passes are $35, $25 and $18, respectively. The USAG Championships are April 19-21 at Brougham Pavilion. The team prelim sessions begin at 3 and 7 p.m. Apr. 19. Team finals are Apr. 20 at 7 p.m. and the individuals finals Apr. 21 start at 4 p.m.

Gym shorts. Tindall was back to the minimum of five performers on bars last week, due to illnesses. Sullivan missed two days of training but recovered sufficiently to compete in three events...Brianna Schwartz (So., Bonney Lake, Wa./Sumner) was solid across the board, earning marks of 9.600 on vault and bars, 9.450 on balance beam and 9.700 on floor exercise. She finished fifth all-around (38.350)…Kristin Bryant (Sr., Anchorage, Ak./West Anchorage) landed a 9.700 vault, her fifth straight of 9.700 or above. She also had a 9.725 on floor and a 9.625 on beam…Amber Lundgren (So., Temecula, Ca./Temecula Valley) charged the vault to the tune of 9.500… Melissa Daniels (So., Salinas, Ca./N. Monterey Cty.) vaulted 9.600 and Christie Chinaka (Jr., Honolulu, Hi.) swung 9.150 on bars…Top recruit Kelli Bates (Fr., Port Orchard, Wa./South Kitsap), an 11-time All-American at YMCA nationals, Katelyn Degner (Fr., Hillsboro, Or./Glencoe), Aubrie Stavig (Jr., Albuquerque, NM/ Sandia) and Danna Nelson (So., Maple Valley, Wa./Tahoma) are all likely to miss the rest of the season with injuries. Nelson competed in two meets and ranked among the national leaders on beam.

Tickets, please. Ticket prices for all SPU regular season meets are $5 for general admission, with students and senior citizens $3. Group and team rates are available by phoning (206) 281-2085 in advance.

SPU Coaches. Laurel Tindall is synonymous with Seattle Pacific gymnastics, having either competed or coached each of the program’s 34 years. Under her guidance, SPU has won three national championships (1986, ‘92, ‘97) and, individually, her gymnasts have taken 19 titles. Now in her 32nd year, Tindall has been honored as national coach of the year four times and two years ago, 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 seventh season as an assistant coach. Siwek was a two-time All-America and a member of the 1997 national championship team. Anna Leiferman is in her first year on the staff. She was a member of the team in 2003 and ‘04.

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 Collegiate Gymnastics Information Center or Mountain Pacific Sports FederationWebsites.