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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3 --
Air Force at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion • Seattle, Wash.
• Webcast: www.PennAtlantic.com  
• LiveStats: www.spufalcons.com

The Seattle Pacific gymnastics team this week hosts the second of its three home meets. The Falcons, ranked No. 4 nationally among USAG competitors, entertain No. 6 Air Force on Friday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion. SPU defeated Wisconsin-La Crosse at home on Jan. 13 in the season opener before competing on the road the last two weekends.

Get Your Tickets
Tickets to attend SPU home gymnastics events are available at Brougham Pavilion on meet nights and are priced at $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. Groups of 10 or more may qualify for special general admission rates by calling (206) 281-2085 in advance. SPU students and staff are admitted free with valid i.d.

Clash of Falcons
Friday's dual meet will determine which cast of Falcons is superior in the gymnastics arena. SPU is listed 56th (189.333) and Air Force is No. 60 (188.292) in the ranking of all collegiate women's gymnastics teams. USAF does have the better season-high score with a 190.925 compared to SPU's 190.300. The two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rivals are also near each other in the ratings for teams that will vie for the USA Gymnastics collegiate title as SPU is No. 4 and USAF No. 6. They were both finalists at the 2011 USAG Collegiate Championships with Air Force placing third and SPU fourth.

Notable
Twelve of the 16 gymnasts that competed for SPU this season have posted an event score of 9.525 or better and five of them achieved a mark of 9.70 or higher ... Stephanie Wagner has been SPU's top beam performer in every meet.



Recent Recap
Stephanie Wagner placed third on the beam and set a career-high on the bars on Jan. 27 for NCAA Division II Seattle Pacific, which finished behind Division I competitors California and UC Davis. The Falcons third-place total was 189.275 points, their second-highest score of the season. Wagner received a mark of 9.675 on the beam, the same score that placed her sixth in the bars competition. California won the team title with a score 191.750 led by three event titlists. The host Aggies compiled a second-place team total of 191.600 fueled by Katie Yamamura's winning all-around score of 39.125.

Bridgeport Bound?
The season starts in Seattle. The Falcons hope it ends in Bridgeport, Conn., the site of the 2012 USA Gymnastics (USAG) Collegiate Championships, April 12-14. SPU is a perennial championship contender, qualifying for 29 of the last 30 national meets for NCAA Division II schools. Since 1982, the Falcons only missed out in 2009.

Strenuous Schedule
Seattle Pacific is an NCAA Division II member that competes for the USA Gymnastics (USAG) Collegiate championship. Most of the Falcons opponents are from NCAA Division I, including three clashes with teams ranked in the top-25 nationally.

Proud History
While the dictionary entry for “consistency” makes no mention of gymnastics or Seattle Pacific University, the Falcons certainly have defined the word. From the very first meet way back in 1974 to a run of 20 consecutive top-four finishes at nationals, including championships in 1986, 1992 and 1997, SPU has made the kind of lasting impression that few programs anywhere can match. The Falcons earned invitations to 29 of the last 30 championship meets (1982-2008, 2010). They narrowly missed a qualifying berth in 2009. SPU gymnasts have won 22 national crowns and collected 160 All-America awards.

Next Week
Seattle Pacific embarks on a two-meet road trip to the Midwest, beginning on Feb. 10 at Illinois State, along with Temple and Wisconsin-Stout. SPU visits Illinois-Chicago on Feb. 11. Both meets start at 5 p.m. Pacific Time (7 p.m. Central.)

Season Preview
The Seattle Pacific women's gymnastics team reached the four-team finals at the 2011 USAG Collegiate Championships. They seek do replicate that feat in 2012 and improve on the fourth-place finish. That is an attainable goal according to Laurel Tindall, in her 37th season as SPU's coach. “Some things are going to have to fall into place for us, injuries are always a factor in that. We again have some good kids, we have some standouts on certain events and some All-Americans returning that will really help us in that quest.” Despite the departure of six letterwinners, including All-Americans Anissa Madrid and Bri Steigauf, the Falcons have a foundation of 13 letterwinners on which to build. Heading the list of returnees are three All-Americans who competed in the event finals at the 2011 USAG championships. Corrine Wise placed third on the beam, Samantha Taylor was fifth on the bars and Sherah Veron was 13th on the floor. A talented group of seven newcomers joins the roster and Tindall expects some of them to contribute immediately. “Shannon (Escarra) and Sydney (Clark) are both coming in as experienced freshmen ready to compete. We also have transfer Jenna Dudley from the Air Force Academy who has two years of collegiate experience under her belt and will come in and help us on vault and bars particularly.” SPU will rely on a bevy of event specialists in pursuit of its 30th championship meet berth in the last 31 years. “Sam Taylor did great last year getting All-American on bars and she'll be great again on that this year. Sherah Veron on vault and floor is doing really well. Stephanie Wagner will excel on beam and floor and she's also done a great job on bars this year.”

Coach Tindall
Laurel Tindall (Anderson) was there the very first time a group of Seattle Pacific gymnasts marched onto the competition floor in 1974. Now, 38 years later, she still is an integral part of a program that she helped nurture and lead to a prominent spot on the national scene since taking the coaching reigns in 1976. Whether as an athlete, coach or international-level judge, Tindall has spent a lot of time at the top of the gymnastics world. As she enters her 37th year as head coach, Tindall's SPU teams have won three national championships (1997, 1992, 1986). Falcon athletes garnered 22 national crowns, one of which she earned on the vault in 1975. Tindall has been named the national Coach of the Year four times, most recently in 2003. In a tribute to her myriad accomplishments in the SPU gym, Tindall is a charter member of the Falcon Legends Hall of Fame. She also operates the Falcon Gymnastics Center for local youths.

Home Sweet Brougham
The Falcons host three home meets at Brougham Pavilion on the Seattle Pacific campus. The arena is located at the corner of Third Avenue West and Nickerson Street (3414 Third Ave. W, Seattle, WA, 98119). Brougham has hosted the national championship meet three times, most recently in 2007 when the Falcons finished second. Along with Friday's season opener, SPU hosts Air Force on Feb. 3 and UC Davis on Feb. 24. Both of those dual meets start at 7 p.m.