courtesy of Brianna Piedmonte Fifth-year senior Brianna Piedmonte performs on the floor exercise at the USA Gymnastics Championships in Shreveport, La. The Falcons took fourth in the second session of the competition.

The SPU gymnastics 2007-2008 season was a roller coaster full of ups and downs, twists and turns. Average overall scores and inexperienced gymnasts posed challenges for the team all season long.

Nevertheless, last Thursday, the Falcons took fourth place in the second session at the USA Gymnastics Championships in Shreveport, La., last week. The team's overall score was a 189.35. Their fourth-place finish bumped them up from seventh to sixth in the nation.

"It was good that we went in seventh and came out sixth," head coach Laurel Tindall said. However, she said, "We didn't have the meet we wanted to have."

Just before nationals, the Falcons had two meets with overall scores in the 190s, something they had been aiming for all season. The team was unable to end their season on the same note.

East Texas Women's University won the top spot with a score of 194.375, Centenary got second place with a 192.4, and rounding out the top three was William and Mary. Their overall score was a 189.525.

"If we did our best, like we did at conference, we would have been more competitive," senior Ashley Domres said. The Falcons placed second with a 193 at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference meet.

Domres shined bright at the team meet and was also the only Falcon to make it to the individual competition.

She achieved third place on the beam, garnering a 9.825. She rocked both her uneven bars and floor routines, getting a 9.725 in both events.

In individual competition, Domres scored a 9.05 on the beam, which landed her in ninth place, and a 9.1 on bars that won her eleventh place. She received first team all-America honors for the second year in a row.

"It was nice to see a senior [Domres] finish up her career that way," Tindall said.

However, the team did not finish as strongly as a whole.

"We didn't have the same meet as we had the last two meets at the end of the season," Tindall said. Nevertheless, she said that they scored right in line with their season average.

The team's season average was a 189.4.

"We had some falls we had to count," Domres said, adding that the team made these mistakes throughout the season. "There was a lot of pressure at the meet."

Tindall said that key Falcon competitors fell off of the beam and did not hit bar routines.

Freshman Anissa Madrid had the highest score on the vault for the Falcons with her 9.65. Madrid also scored a 9.6 on floor, a 9.3 on bars, and a 9.1 on the beam.

Senior Christie Chinaka scored a 9.25 on beam and 9.525 on vault, and fifth-year senior Brianna Piedmonte achieved a 9.55 on beam.

"Sadie Johnston competed on the vault for the first time and did a great job," junior Tracy Smith added. This was the first time Johnston competed in this event all season.

This meet marked the conclusion of the final season for four seniors: Domres, Chinaka, Piedmonte, and Aubrie Stavig.

"It was a good season, but we're disappointed that we ended this way," Smith said.

Tindall, Domres, and Smith admitted that the frustration did not outweigh the positive attitude of the team.

"I'd really say that it [the season] was a learning experience for everyone," Smith said.

"We definitely, in looking back, need to hit earlier in the season...They're a good group of girls, and they worked very hard. It was a building year," Tindall said.

"Overall, our team lacks difficulty in our skill level," Domres said, noting lower start values on events like vault.

However, Smith said that the team improved in "leaps and bounds," most notably in overall team scores. The Falcons gained ten points in their overall scores from the beginning of the season to the end.

Domres said the team would have liked to place higher, but she had a positive word for the younger gymnasts.

"Enjoy every moment, because it will go faster than you can ever imagine," she said.