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End of the road. Week after week, there have been road tests. Attempting to maintain some consistency going into the championship portion of the schedule, Seattle Pacific University’s gymnastics team has one more chance to find that elusive element before turning for home. The Falcons (1-12) visit Corvallis for their fourth straight road meet Friday night (Mar. 16), and there they will face the likes of Washington (3-7), No. 7 Utah (8-7) and host and 10th-ranked Oregon State (11-4) in the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational. SPU Senior Night is Mar. 23 against the Huskies.

Summit in sight. There’s a lot of incentive for the Falcons to put things right because they host the championship meets for both the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and USA Gymnastics Collegiate Women. Coach Laurel Tindall is seeing signs that her athletes are reaching their peak. After a poor performance on floor in Boise the week before, SPU bounced back with a season-high score of 49.025 at UC Davis. It wasn’t enough to beat the Aggies (192.775), but at the end of the meet Seattle Pacific was closing the gap and the two will square-off again for the MPSF title Mar. 30 in Brougham Pavilion.

National rankings. Whereas this week will provide a chance to witness some of the Division I national contenders up-close, the Falcons’ competition for the USAG crown is largely three time zones away. Maryland’s Towson holds a solid grip in the divisional rankings, with a regional qualifying score (RQS) of 192.840. Defending champion Texas Woman’s is second (191.690) and ‘05 champ Rutgers is third (191.010). Seattle Pacific is No. 4 (190.690) with Cornell (189.395) rounding out the top five. By events, SPU is second on vault and floor exercise and fourth on bars and balance beam.

Huss leads the pack. Individually, Debra Huss (Sr., Orangevale, Ca./Bella Vista) is the one to beat in both the conference and USAG floor and all-around races. Huss was named MPSF gymnast of the week for a third time after earning a season-high 38.900 over four events at Davis to run away with the all-around title. Performing for the final time near her hometown, she danced a season-best 9.900 on floor exercise and won balance beam with a 9.800. Her floor show ties for her career high and No. 3 all-time at Seattle Pacific while the all-around tally is the best by Huss in two years and shares No. 9 on the list. She ranks No. 3 nationally on beam.

Health means everything. A year ago, Huss was on the shelf with an ankle injury and coming into this season Tindall was uncertain not only of Huss’ recovery but also that of her other All-America all-arounder, Sarah Sullivan (Sr., Salem, Or./Sprague). Sullivan who makes one last pass through her home state this weekend, fractured her left hand in preseason and is just beginning to settle in to her assortment of routines. Sullivan took second in the all-around with a season-high sum of 38.750. She was second on balance beam (9.725) and tied for fourth on floor with a season-best 9.825.

D, B & D. Seattle Pacific’s other top-three finishes came from Melissa Daniels (So., Salinas, Ca./N. Monterey Cty.) and Ashley Domres (Jr., Scottsdale, Az./Scottsdale Christian). Daniels tied for first on vault with two Aggies, all of them scoring 9.750. Kristin Bryant (Sr., Anchorage, Ak./West Anchorage) landed the second-best score (9.725), giving her a share of fourth. Bryant ranks No. 4 among USAG vaulters, and has hit 9.700 or higher in all eight meets. She was fourth on floor as well. Tindall’s third all-arounder last week, Domres tied for third on beam with a season-high 9.650.

Dancing with the stars. The 49.025 total on floor mats was the best in three years, since the record of 49.125 in 2004. Prior to Huss’ 9.900, it featured three successive scores of 9.825 by Brianna Schwartz (So., Bonney Lake, Wa./Sumner), Bryant and Sullivan. It also enabled SPU to climb back into contention after falling behind by 2.075 following the first couple events. The visitors were within 0.375 going into the final rotation.

Gym shorts. If it’s not one thing, it seems to be another. The Falcons got their act together on floor only after a significant dip from the previous week on bars. Huss was fourth with 9.725 and Christie Chinaka (Jr., Honolulu, Hi.) followed up her career-high 9.775 with a 9.675. But with Schwartz out of the lineup with a sore shoulder, the overall score slipped to 47.100 after a 48.350 a week earlier in Idaho. SPU counted two falls each on bars and beam...Sullivan ranks No. 6 in USAG on floor and No. 8 on beam. She does not yet have a sufficient number of all-arounds to qualify for that category. Huss is the top-ranked Falcon on bars (11th)...SPU has now scored 190 or higher in five straight meets...In the last four trips to Corvallis, Seattle Pacific has scored above 191 once–a 192.900 in ‘04...Amber Lundgren (So., Temecula, Ca./Temecula Valley) danced a 9.650 on floor and vaulted a 9.525 on vault. Tindall has used Lundgren in various event lineups, and the sophomore may all-around again before the season is out...Last week Tindall had sufficient healthy bodies to compete six athletes per event for just the third time this season.

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.