Sports championship events of any sort are rare in this upper left corner of the U.S., but locals have a chance to witness one here next week. Seattle Pacific University is hosting the USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championships, a three-day affair, April 19-21, at SPU's Royal Brougham Pavilion, at Third Avenue West and West Nickerson.
Other schools competing in the championship include Cornell, Tem-ple, Rutgers, William & Mary, Tow-son, Texas Women's and Centenary.
Towson is top-seeded, based on its regional qualifying score of 193.720. Defending champion Texas Women's is No. 2 (192.110), followed by Rutgers (191.770) and Seattle Pacific (191.680). Centenary (190.245), Cornell (189.940), Temple (189.580) and William & Mary (188.490) complete the field.
SPU's hardworking gymnasts should be in a good frame of mind for the nationals. In a dual meet with the UW women March 23, the feisty Falcon squad scored its highest point total ever, 193.725 (out of a possible 200), while narrowly losing to the Huskies' 194.475.
A week later, on March 30, SPU came from behind with a score of 193.050 to defeat University of California Davis, the Air Force Academy and University of Alaska Anchorage and win the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship.
Women's college gymnastics consists of four events: uneven bars, balance beam, vault and floor exercise. All-around encompasses all four events. A perfect score for each event is 10. Each school is allowed six contestants in each event, and the top five scores count. If each of the five scored a perfect 10 in each event, a team would score a perfect 200 (five times four times 10). It never happens.
Uneven bars require a gravity-defying series of releases and flight elements, using kinetic energy from one rotation to propel the athlete into another one, such as Tarzan or Jane never dreamed of. A "stuck" landing is preferred.
In the vault, the performer uses a springboard to propel her onto, above and beyond the vault table. Scoring is determined by the judges' observation of the competitor's form - technique, height, execution and landing.
The balance beam presents a 4-inch-wide platform on which the intrepid contestant must display elegant posture, the moves of a ballerina and the courage of Luke Skywalker, essaying turns, jumps and somersaults while managing not to fall off - or on - the 5-meter-long beam.
Floor exercise, by contrast, seems pure joy. It allows the athlete to show creative dance moves as well as tumbling, in a choreographed routine of her design. A good performance often sets the crowd clapping to the beat of the music.
In the MPSF meet, SPU overcame some rocky moments on the balance beam by dominating in the crowd-pleasing floor exercise, with a 1-2-3 finish, and in the vault. Debra Huss took the top spot on floor with a 9.9, while Sarah Sullivan and Kristin Bryant were close behind with identical 9.875 scores. "Floor exercise has been strong for us all year, and it has great crowd appeal," said SPU coach Laurel Tindall. "We almost always do well."
Huss and Sullivan took the top two spots in the MPSF all-around competition, with scores of 38.550 (out of 40) and 38.475, respectively. Sullivan also had the top score on balance beam (9.775), while Ashley Domres tallied the same score to finish second on uneven bars. (In related news, Huss and Sullivan each qualified to compete for the NCAA West Regional, April 14 in Berkeley, Calif.)
Sessions for the national championships at SPU are set for Thursday, April 19 (prelims at 3 and 7 p.m.), Friday, April 20, at 7 (team finals), and Saturday, April 21, at 4 (individual finals).
Per-session tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for students and seniors 65 and over, and $5 for children 12 and under.
An All-Event Pass is $35 for adults, $25 for students and seniors, and $18 for children.
The last time SPU hosted nationals, in 1997, they won it all. It could happen again.
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