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Live Meet Results
FRIDAY, MARCH 19 --
Washington at Seattle Pacific (Alumni Night)
Brougham Pavilion • Seattle, Wash. • 7:00 p.m. PST
SATURDAY, MARCH 27 --
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships
Brougham Pavilion • Seattle, Wash. • 6:00 p.m. PST
They’re finally home. After more than two months and eight straight meets away from home, the Seattle Pacific gymnastics team returns to Brougham Pavilion on Friday, Mar. 19. The NCAA Division II Falcons host a dual meet against Division I Washington at 7 p.m. SPU has not defeated UW since outpointing the Huskies 192.875 to 191.475 at home on March 8, 2004. These two teams met across town on Feb. 26 with host Washington posting a score of 194.100 to 188.275 for the Falcons. The SPU gymnasts, whose only home meet to date was on Jan. 15, remain home next week to host the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championships on Saturday, Mar. 27 at 6 p.m.
Ticket Talk
Tickets to attend Friday's gymnastics meet are available at the Brougham Pavilion door 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.
Follow the Action
Are you unable to be at Brougham Pavilion for Friday’s meet? You can still watch the action live via a free webcast at
www.pennatlantic.com
Welcome Back
A large contingent of former SPU gymnasts will be in attendance Friday, taking part in Alumni Night festivities. Among the alums who with get together after the meet is All-American Debbie (Halle) Jackson a member of the Falcons’ inaugural 1974 gymnastics team along with current SPU head coach Laurel (Anderson) Tindall.
Meet Field
Washington is the nation’s 22nd-rated team with a high score of 195.800. NCAA Division II SPU ranks 63rd among all college teams (190.500) in the rankings that are dominated by Division I squads. The Falcons are rated No. 8 among teams that will vie for the USA Gymnastics collegiate title.
Recent Recap
Anissa Madrid and Sherah Veron each registered fourth-place performances in events for Seattle Pacific, which finished fourth at the Eagle Invitational on Mar. 13 in Ypsilanti, Mich. Madrid was the Falcons’ top scorer in two events, including a fourth-place mark of 9.650 on the balance beam. She received a score of 9.525 on bars en route to a composite score of 37.075 that place her sixth among all-around competitors. Veron nailed her floor routine and was rewarded with a fourth-place score of 9.50. She posted a 9.400 on vault. Led by first-place all-arounder Kaylyn Millick (38.800), host Eastern Michigan compiled the winning team score of 192.715. Northern Illinois placed second (191.300) and Western Michigan was third (190.700). SPU’s team score was 187.250.
Gym Shorts
Thirteen Falcons have registered scores above 9.50 in at least one event this season ... Junior Anissa Madrid ranks No. 3 among all USAG collegiate beam performers and is ranked No. 7 nationally in the all-around ... On Feb. 12 at Boise State, SPU surpassed the 190-point barrier with a season-high score of 190.500. The Falcons did not accumulate a score of 190 during the regular season last year ... Sophomore Sherah Veron is SPU’s top-ranked gymnast in two events in the USAG ratings. She compiled the team’s best score of 9.750 on vault and tied Brittany Malone for SPU’s best floor mark of 9.800.
Targeting Texas
The season started in Seattle. The Falcons hope it ends in Denton, Texas. That’s the site of the 2010 USGA Collegiate Championships, April 15-17. The SPU gymnastics squad competed in 27 consecutive national championship meets before falling just short of a team-qualifying berth in 2009. They seek to start the streak again.
Proud History
Seattle Pacific is one of the country’s premier NCAA Division II women’s gymnastics programs, having won national championships in 1986, 1992 and 1997. The Falcons earned invitations to 27 consecutive championship meets (1982-2008) before narrowly missing a qualifying berth last season. SPU gymnasts have collected 22 national crowns and collected 147 All-America awards.
MPSF Meet
Seattle Pacific will host the ninth-annual Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) women’s gymnastics championships on Saturday, March 27 at Brougham Pavilion. The four-team meet, which is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start, will determine the team and individual conference champions. Tickets for the MPSF meet can be purchased in advanced during business hours at the SPU Athletic Office in Brougham Pavilion or by calling (206) 281-2085. Tickets are priced at $7 for adults, $5 for children and senior citizens and $3 for SPU students or staff. The host Falcons will be joined by Air Force and UC Davis along with defending champion Alaska Anchorage.
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, 36 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 35th year as head coach, Tindall’s SPU teams have won three national championships. 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. And, in a tribute to all of her accomplishments in the Seattle Pacific gym, Tindall is a charter member of the Falcon Legends Hall of Fame. Tindall also operates the Falcon Gymnastics Center for local youths.
Season Preview
Youth still dominates the roster, but experience is in greater supply for the 2010 edition of Seattle Pacific gymnastics. The team is built around a 10-gymnast sophomore class that saw a great deal of competition last year in their collegiate debuts. The Falcons have just five juniors and no seniors. Laurel Tindall, in her 35th season as SPU’s coach, is optimistic. “We’ve got some great talent. Our top three are reasonably strong on each event, it’s just numbers four, five and six that we need to solidify.” The biggest task will be replacing uneven bars national champion Brianna Schwartz, SPU’s top all-arounder in 2009. Helping fill that void is the full-time return of junior Anissa Madrid, who missed all but the final meet last year. Madrid posted the team’s best all-around score (38.825) in 2008. “She’s easily capable of winning nationals. She has all of the ingredients,” says Tindall. Also expected to compete as an all-arounder is incoming freshman Stephanie Wagner a talented gymnast from Estacada, Ore. The Falcons’ only other newcomer is freshman Ami Khauv, a vault and beam specialist from Monticello, Minn. SPU will rely on a bevy of event specialists in its pursuit of its 28th championship meet berth in the last 29 years. A trio of standouts highlights the vault corps in Sherah Veron, Lari Wilson and Madrid. The bars lineup features sophomore Kaysha Heck, the bronze medalist at the 2009 USAG meet. Madrid and Wagner project as the best beam and floor performers. Bri Steigauf could again top the floor field when she returns from an ankle injury.
Strenuous Schedule
Seattle Pacific is an NCAA Division II member that competes alongside some Division I and II foes for the USA Gymnastics (USAG) Collegiate championship. The Falcons entire regular-season schedule is comprised of NCAA Division I opponents.