• Final scores   |  • Complete results (pdf)   |  • VIDEO: Kristi Hayashida
 
SEATTLE – Sydney Clark and Ariana Harger were part of a three-way tie for first place on the floor exercise, and Seattle Pacific teammate Kristi Hayashida won the balance beam with a career-high score, but the Falcons fell short of UC Davis in their women's gymnastics season opener on Friday night in Brougham Pavilion
 
NCAA Division I competitor Davis scored 193.025 in the dual meet led by first-place uneven bars effort of Dani Judal (9.825). Three Aggies, Kala DeFrancesco, Katy Nogaki and Alexis Brown, tied for top honors on the vault with matching 9.775 tallies.
 
The Division II Falcons, starting their 42nd season of gymnastics and the 40th under the guidance of head coach Laurel Tindall, finished with 191.200. That was their highest season-opening total in nine years, since the 2006 squad had a starting score of 191.850.
 
"That was a great way to start the season," Tindall said. "It was definitely a much better performance than what we expected."


 
SPU senior Clark (Eugene, Ore.) and freshman Harger (Castro Valley, Calif.) each earned a 9.725 for their floor routines, as did DeFrancesco of UC Davis.
 
"We've lost a lot of our floor lineup with only two kids returning," Tindall said of the group that helped SPU place third as a team at the 2014 USAG Collegiate Championships. Among the departures was her daughter, Kai Tindall, who was a co-national champion on the floor.
 
"We're still playing with who's going to go where. We gave Sydney the nod on the anchor since she's a senior and is one of the best at showing off a routine. She was very good."
 
Hayashida (Mililani, Hawaii), a sophomore, logged a 9.825 for her beam routine. That bettered her previous high of 9.775.
 
"Kristi had a really good performance on beam," Tindall said of Hayashida, who garnered 2014 All-America accolades for a 10th-place finish on that apparatus at nationals. "We're hoping that she can build on last year's performances. We think that she do even better this year and be consistent in every meet."
 
Along with the floor, Harger also was SPU's top scorer on the vault in her collegiate debut. She finished fourth with a 9.75.
 
"You never know what's going to happen with freshmen the first meet so we're always hesitant to put them at anchor. But Ariana anchored vault and did a great job."

 

Clark was the leading Falcon on the bars, with a 9.60 that was good for sixth place. She also had a 38.300 all-around total, and was the only competitor from either team who competed in all four events.
 
Seattle Pacific's score exceeded last year's season-opening total of 190.75. The Falcons went on to top 190 in all 13 of their meets last winter.
 
The total on Friday included 48.30 on the beam, as all six Falcons stayed on for their entire routines. Sophomore Tracie Villanueva (Kaneohe, Hawaii) joined Hayashida with a career-high performance, scoring 9.775 that exceeded her old mark of 9.725.
 
"I thought that beam could be our best event this year and it definitely was today," Tindall said. "We started out well hitting five out of six routines with no falls."
 
SPU sophomore Page Blaney (Edmonton, Alberta) tied her career high on the vault with a 9.675.
 
The Falcons now take to the road, visiting Central Michigan next Saturday at 4 p.m. Pacific Time for a three-way meet that also includes Eastern Michigan.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS
Friday, January 9, 2015
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Team Scores
1, UC Davis, 193.025
2, Seattle Pacific, 191.200
 
Vault
1t, Miranda Holder, UCD, 9.775
1t, Alexis Brown, UCD, 9.775
1t, Katy Nogaki, UCD, 9.775
Top SPU placer – 4, Ariana Harger, 9.750
 
Uneven Bars
1, Dani Judal, UCD, 9.825
2t, Kala DeFrancsco, UCD, 9.700
2t, Lisa Wiktorski, UCD, 9.700
Top SPU placer – 6, Sydney Clark, 9.600
 
Balance Beam
1, Kristi Hayashida, SPU, 9.825
2t, Cassandra Quebral, UCD, 9.800
2t, Alexis Brown, UCD, 9.800
 
Floor Exercise
1t, Sydney Clark, SPU, 9.725
1t, Ariana Harger, SPU, 9.725
1t, Kala DeFrancsco, UCD, 9.725
 
All-Around
1, Sydney Clark, SPU, 38.300
No other competitors
 
 
Next Meet
Seattle Pacific at Central Michigan (with Eastern Michigan)
Saturday, Jan. 17, 4:00 p.m. PST
McGuirk Arena / Mount Pleasant, Mich.