• COMPLETE RESULTS (html)   |   • MEET RESULTS (pdf)
• VIDEO: LENA  WIRTH             |   • PHOTO GALLERY

SEATTLE – Great expectations. The youthful Falcons didn't have them going into Friday's season-opening meet. But they do now.
 
Darian Burns was second on the floor exercise and put together a career-high all-around score for Seattle Pacific, but UC Davis swept the top three spots on the uneven bars and balance beam to beat the Falcons in the season-opening women's gymnastics meet in Brougham Pavilion.
 
The Aggies finished with 193.125 points. SPU checked in with 191.325.
 
"Wow, that was a good opening score for us," exclaimed Coach Laurel Tindall, beginning her 43rd season as the Falcons head coach. "We didn't even break 190 last year in the opener and it took us a long time to get to 191."
 
Friday's team score was nearly two points higher than last year's season-opening tally of 189.425. It was the Falcons' best opening mark since 2006, when they scored 191.85 at home against Alaska Anchorage.
 
Seattle Pacific's event totals in three of the four events on Friday – vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise – also were higher than in that 2017 opener against Oregon State.


 
Burns, who earned a share of the floor national championship last April in Brougham, turned a crisp, precision routine into a score of 9.80. Only UC Davis senior Alexis Brown was ahead of her, with a 9.90.
 
In addition to her floor performance, Burns was part of a three-way tie for second place on the vault with a 9.70.  Her all-around score of 38.55 beat her previous best of 38.10, set last Jan. 27 at home against Hamline.
 
Led by the matching 9.70 marks of Burns and sophomore Lena Wirth, the Falcons scored 48.075 on the vault, beating last year's opening mark of 47.50.
 
Sophomore Sienna Brane set the pace on the uneven bars with a 9.575, and the Falcons finished with 47.325, which was eighth-tenths of a point ahead of what they had in 2017 against OSU.
 
Seattle Pacific's floor total of 48.20 was seventh-tenths of a point better than a year ago.
 
Freshman McKenna Zimmermann had the top balance beam score of 9.60 for the Falcons, and hers was one of five no-fall efforts among the six competitors.
 
Zimmermann was one of four freshmen making their collegiate debuts for SPU, joining Haven Lanzador, Kylie Reese and Shelbi Spivey. That quartet combined for 10 of the team's 24 routines. First-year Falcon Autumn Huskie also debuted as an exhibition performer.
 
"With so many new people we had no idea what to expect," Tindall said. "Definitely a good start for them."

 

Add in sophomores Brane, Burns and Wirth and underclassmen comprised seven of the 10 counting competitors, performing 18 routines.
 
"We had untested people filling most of our spots," Tindall added. "Along with the four freshmen competing, we had people filling unfamiliar spots. Sienna is not a freshman, but she had never done beam and nailed it. Several others competed in new events."
 
Brown won two of the four events plus the all-around crown for UC Davis. Along with her floor-winning mark of 9.900, Brown took the bars with a 9.800 on the way to an all-around total of 39.050.
 
SPU returns to action next Friday in Idaho, joining Denver and Illinois-Chicago for a meet at Boise State. Competition begins at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
 
"We didn't count a fall tonight, which was nice," Tindall said. "If we can do the same thing next week, with three Division I teams in the meet, it's a really great opportunity to get some good scores."
 
The Falcons' next home competition is Friday, Jan. 26 against Lindenwood and Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The tri meet begins at 7 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS
UC Davis-Seattle Pacific Dual Meet
Friday, Jan. 12, 2018
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team Scores
1, UC Davis, 193.125
2, Seattle Pacific, 191.325
 
All-Around
1, Alexis Brown, UCD, 39.050
2, Kelley Hebert, UCD, 38.950
3, Darian Burns, SPU, 38.550
4, Itzia San Roman, SPU, 37.700
 
Vault
1, Kyla Kessler, UCD, 9.750
2t, Lena Wirth, SPU, 9.700
2t, Darian Burns, SPU 9.700
2t, Gabby Landess, UCD, 9.700
5, Alyssa Ito, UCD, 9.675
6, Yasmine Yektaparast, UCD, 9.650
 
Uneven Bars
1, Alexis Brown, UCD, 9.800
2, Kelley Hebert, UCD, 9.725
3, Kyla Kessler, UCD, 9.600
4, Sienna Brane, SPU, 9.575
5, Darian Burns, SPU, 9.550
6, McKenna Zimmermann, SPU, 9.500
 
Balance Beam
1, Kelley Hebert, UCD, 9.850
2, Alexis Brown, UCD, 9.825
3t, Aya Suzuki, UCD, 9.725
3t, Yasmine Yektaparast, UCD, 9.725
5t, McKenna Zimmermann, SPU, 9.600
5t, Amanda Presswood, UCD, 9.600
5t, Jamie Panchak, UCD, 9.600
 
Floor Exercise
1, Alexis Brown, UCD, 9.900
2, Darian Burns, SPU, 9.800
3, Kelley Hebert, UCD, 9.775
4, Itzia San Roman, SPU, 9.725
5, Gabby Landess, UCD, 9.700
6, Kylie Reese, SPU, 9.675
 
 
Next SPU Meet
Seattle Pacific at Boise State Quad Meet
Friday, Jan. 19, 6:00 p.m. PST
Taco Bell Arena / Boise, Idaho