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SATURDAY, JANUARY 21 –
Seattle Pacific at Oregon State (w/Northern Illinois), 12:00 p.m. PST
Gill Coliseum / Corvallis, Ore.
• Webcast: http://pac-12.com/live/oregon-state-university-2
• Live Scoring: http://static.osubeavers.com/gym/livestats/20170121.htm
 
Same teams, different venue. One week after opening their 2017 season at home against Oregon State, the Seattle Pacific gymnasts visit Corvallis, Ore. for a tri-meet hosted by the Beavers. The Saturday, Jan. 21 meet at noon in Gill Coliseum also includes Northern Illinois. This is the 44th season of intercollegiate gymnastics competition at SPU and the 42nd with Coach Laurel Tindall at the helm.
 
Saturday's Field
Host Oregon State is ranked No. 19 nationally with a high score of 195.575 to its credit. The Beavers feature the nation's 11th-rated balance beam competitor in Madeline Gardiner with a high of 9.90. Northern Illinois is listed No. 26 in the national ratings with a top team output of 194.825. Those two NCAA Division I opponents provide formidable opposition for the Division II Falcons, who are ranked No. 64 overall with a top score of 189.425. SPU is rated No. 10 among teams that vie for the USA Gymnastics (USAG) Collegiate Championships that the Falcons will host April 7-9 in Brougham Pavilion. Eight teams receive berths to the event that SPU placed third the last three years.
 


Last Week
Returning All-America performer Lauren Glover led Seattle Pacific on the floor exercise, and three different freshmen had the top Falcon scores on the other events in the Jan. 13 season opener at Brougham Pavilion. The Beavers, ranked No. 9 nationally among NCAA Division I competitors, finished with 194.525 points and Division II SPU tallied 189.425. Glover wrapped up the floor for the Falcons with a 9.725 to tie for fourth overall. Falcons freshman Darian Burns had a second-place all-around total of 37.225, including a team-high 9.775 vault. First-year competitors Sienna Brane (9.550) and Miyuki Matsune (9.750) were SPU's top bars and beam scorers, respectively.
 
Gym Shorts
SPU freshman Darian Burns ranks No. 1 nationally among USAG vaulters (9.775) ... Five Falcons earned All-America acclaim in 13 categories at the 2016 USAG championships, including returnees Ariana Harger (AA, V, BB, FX), Lauren Glover (V, FX), Kristi Hayashida (BB) and Breanna Beltran (UB) ... Harger tied for top national honors on the floor exercise with a score of 9.90 ... Graduated senior Maria Hundley completed her career with a school-record seven national championships, including the all-around and vault in 2016. She matched the Division II mark for career gold medals.
 
2016 Recap
The Falcons forged one of the finest seasons in school history in 2016. They placed third at nationals as a team and collected 13 All-America certificates at the USAG Collegiate Championships in St. Charles, Mo. Maria Hundley won national titles in the all-around and vault, giving her a record seven career championships. Ariana Harger tied for the floor title while Kristi Hayahida brought home a silver medal on the balance beam and Lauren Glover was a floor exercise bronze medalist. In the USAG team finals, the Falcons compiled a school-record total of 194.875 points to secure a third-place showing. SPU finished fourth at the MPSF (conference) Championships with a mark of 193.000.
 
Proud History
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, Seattle Pacific has made the kind of lasting impression that few programs anywhere can match. The Falcons earned invitations to 34 of the last 35 championship meets (1982-2008, 2010-2016). They narrowly missed a qualifying berth in 2009. SPU gymnasts have won 30 national individual crowns and collected 200 All-America awards.
 
2017 Preview
The Falcons want to be home when they collect their fourth national championship. Seattle Pacific, winner of titles in 1986, 1992 and 1997, plays host to the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships in April. They parlayed the home gym advantage into the top spot on the victory platform in 1997. "Definitely it's great to have the kids competing in their home gym. The home crowd and not having to travel is a good advantage for us," said Coach Laurel Tindall, in her 42nd season at SPU. "We tend to have a good meet when we host." The 2017 pursuit to the podium features a large cast of returning Falcons and impressive list of newcomers. Back are 10 letterwinners, including defending floor exercise national champion, junior Ariana Harger. Also returning are balance beam silver medalist Kristi Hayashida and Lauren Glover, who earned bronze on the floor exercise. Breanne Beltran finished eighth on the uneven bars. They seek to offset the departure of Maria Hundley, who won a school-record seven national titles during the last four years. SPU takes on an ambitious schedule that includes 12 NCAA Division I opponents. The Division II Falcons seek to improve upon the third-place national result they accomplished at the 2014, 2015 and 2016 USAG meets. Five Falcons garnered All-America awards last year and four of them return in 2017. Heading that list is Harger, the floor champion who also placed sixth in the all-around at nationals. Beam runner-up Hayashida was third on that apparatus at the 2015 championships. "Some of our seniors will be providing some good experience in our lineup," Tindall projected. "Kristi will still be a great anchor on beam. She's been third, and second (at nationals). We're hoping that top spot is waiting for her there on beam this year. Lauren is looking great and Breanne Beltran is looking great on bars and vault." A stellar group of six newcomers will find places to make their presence felt. "We have some really great freshmen. In our sport we recruit for them to contribute right away. Both Darian (Burns) and Lena (Wirth) are strong gymnasts in several events and will contribute a lot along with Miyuki (Matsune)." SPU is in pursuit of its 35th championship meet berth in the last 36 years. Tindall and her staff of Sarah Jean Marshall and Carly Dockendorf intend to extend that streak by staying home for the championships.

 

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, four decades 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 42nd year as head coach, Tindall's SPU teams have won three national championships (1997, 1992, 1986). Falcon athletes garnered 30 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. And, in a tribute to all of her accomplishments in the SPU gym, Tindall was a charter member of the Falcon Legends Hall of Fame. She also operates the Falcon Gymnastics Center for local youth.
 
Home Sweet Brougham
The Falcons host four 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. The USAG Collegiate Championships return to Brougham on April 7-9, 2017. Along with the Jan. 13 home opener against Oregon State, SPU hosts Hamline University on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. and Air Force on Feb. 4 at 7 p.m.
 
Next Week
The Falcons return home to host Hamline University, an NCAA Division III competitor from St. Paul, Minn. The dual meet is set for Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.