• 2012 USAG Championships page
     • VIDEO: Coach Laurel Tindall

SEATTLE -- The Falcons have been a fixture at the gymnastics national championships. This year is no exception.

For the 30th time in the last 31 years, the Seattle Pacific women will compete at national meet. They received an invitation on Monday for the eight-team USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships that are scheduled for April 12-14 in Bridgeport, Ct.

“It's not a surprise that we're going, but were are going in as the fifth (seeded) team and hoping to better that when we get there," said Laurel Tindall, who is in her 37th year as head coach at SPU.

"This year was a much better season for us, we weren't on the bubble at the end of the season. Last year we were eighth and we weren't really sure we were going to make it in with some other teams right on our heels."

Eight teams and 35 individual qualifiers from across the country will compete for team and individual national titles. The team semifinals will be conducted in two sessions, taking place on Thursday, April 12 at Hubbell Gymnasium on the University of Bridgeport campus.

Fifth-seeded SPU will participate in the second session at 3 p.m. Pacific Time and open the meet on the balance beam. Also in the first group will be three-time defending champion and No. 1 seed Bridgeport, No. 3 Pennsylvania and No. 7 Temple.


The first session starts at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. Participants include second-seeded Texas Woman's University, No. 4 William & Mary, No. 6 Air Force and No. 8 Centenary.

The top two teams from each preliminary quartet advance to the four-team finals on Friday, April 13 that will be conducted in 10,000-seat Webster Bank Arena at 4 p.m. PDT.

Thursday's top-five scoring gymnasts in every event, including ties, from each team session will qualify for the individual event finals that will be contested on Saturday, April 14. The event finals are scheduled for 10 a.m. PDT at Hubbell Gymnasium.

Seattle Pacific has won three national gymnastics championships, capturing the 1986 NCAA Division II crown and the 1992 and 1997 titles after USA Gymnastics took over as the sponsor.

The USAG Collegiate Championships feature NCAA Division II members and Division I schools that choose to adhere to the limit of 7-1/2 scholarships. This year's championship field includes five Division I schools and three Division II entries.

The SPU gymnasts advanced to the team finals last season in Colorado Springs, Colo., finishing fourth overall. They collected seven All-America awards, including two by Anissa Madrid. She earned a silver medal on the balance beam and finished seventh on the uneven bars.

Corrine Wise, who earned the bronze medal on the beam, has been sidelined this season with an injury.

The Falcons feature two returning All-Americans, both seniors. Samantha Taylor (San Carlos, Calif.) finished fifth on the bars at the 2011 championships while Sherah Veron (Broken Arrow, Okla.) placed 13th on the floor exercise. Veron won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) floor title on Saturday.

"Sherah has been up there really all year in floor. She's probably our best chance of a championship," Tindall projected. SPU gymnasts have amassed 22 all-time individual national titles.

"We're hoping that Sam (Taylor) on bars will get All-American, Sherah again on vault has been very strong there and Stephanie Wagner has been our highest performer on balance beam."

Tickets for the USAG Championships are on sale now. For information, please visit the following website: http://ubknights.com/sports/wgym/usag

Prices are $45.00 for a three-day/four-session pass. Tickets are $ 10.00 for each of the April 12 and 14 sessions that will be held at Hubbell Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Bridgeport.

Tickets to the team finals on April 13 at Webster Bank Arena are $27.50, $22.50 & $12 (additional fees may apply).


2012 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate Championships Field
April 12-14, 2012
Bridgeport, Connecticut

Team Qualifiers (listed by seed)
1. Bridgeport
2. Texas Woman's University
3. Pennsylvania
4. William & Mary
5. Seattle Pacific
6. Air Force
7. Temple
8. Centenary