SEATTLE, Wash. - Closing out a very successful season which included a 25-5 record and a third straight Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship, the Tigers will travel to the USA Gymnastics National Championship Meet this weekend at Seattle, Wash.

The meet gets underway on Thursday, April 19 with the preliminary rounds. The team finals are scheduled for Friday, April 20. The meet concludes on Saturday with the team finals set for Saturday afternoon.

With a 193.720 Regional Qualifying Score, the Tigers will be the top-seeded team in the eight-team field. Defending champion Texas Woman's College is the number two seed (192.110) while Rutgers (191.770) is seeded third. Host Seattle-Pacific (191.680) is fourth-seeded.

Centenary (190.245), Cornell (189.940), Temple (189.580) and William & Mary (188.490) round out the championship field. Completing Coach Dick Filbert's 25th season as head coach, the Tigers have had a very balanced team this season.

 The Tigers have been led by juniors Christina Ghani (Lake Braddock H.S./Burke, Va.) and Decelia Willacy (Springbrook H.S./Silver Spring, Md.), two of their top all-around performers.

The Tigers' top vaulter, Ghani was a first team All-ECAC selection in the all-around for the third year in a row. After winning the ECAC all-around titles in 2005 and 2006, she finished third in the all-around at this year's meet with a 38.20 score.

Ghani won the ECAC vault title for the second year in a row as she matched her career high with a 9.90 score.

Willacy also helped the Tigers win their third straight ECAC title by taking first place in the all-around competition with a 38.825 score. Willacy earned first team All-ECAC honors on vault, bars, beam and floor as well as the all-around.

At the ECAC championship meet, Willacy was fourth on vault (9.75), fifth on bars (9.60), sixth on beam (9.675) and tied for third place on floor exercise (9.80).

Freshman Jackie Schweitzer (Holy Trinity H.S./Hicksville, N.Y.) also had an outstanding season competing as an all-around performer. A three-time selection as ECAC Rookie of the Week, she was a first team All-ECAC selection as an all-around and finished fifth at the ECAC Championship (38.10).

A first team All-ECAC selection on bars, beam, floor and all-around, she was the ECAC runner-up on floor (9.825). Schweitzer also tied for second place on beam (9.80) at the ECAC Championship.

All three of the Tigers' all-around performers qualified for the NCAA Southeast regional meet at West Virginia on Saturday night.

Ghani placed 14th in the meet with a 38.60 all-around score while Schweitzer was 19th (37.80) and Willacy finished 21st with a 37.475 all-around score.

In addition to their three all-arounds, the Tigers have gotten solid performances from a trio of three-event gymnasts. Senior co-captain Christine Logan (Paul VI H.S./Clementon, N.J.) has been a very consistent performer on vault, beam and floor while senior Stacie Hogan (Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada) has done well on vault, bars and floor.

Freshman Alise McDonald (Randallstown H.S./Woodstock, Md.) has been one of the Tigers' top performers on vault, beam and floor. In fact, she qualified for the NCAA Regional Meet as an individual vaulter.

The ECAC vault champion as a sophomore, Logan was a first team All-ECAC selection on vault, beam and floor as a senior. She tied for second place on vault (9.80) and beam at the ECAC Championship.

Hogan was the ECAC floor champion with a 9.85 score last month. She also tied for sixth on vault (9.675), earning first team All-ECAC honors on vault and floor.

A first team All-ECAC selection on vault, McDonald tied for fifth on vault at the ECAC championship meet with a 9.675 score. She had a 9.65 score on vault to finish 39th at the NCAA Southeast regional meet over the weekend.

The Tigers will also be counting on graduate student Jessica Hannah (Aiken, S.C.) and junior Cristina Lindo (University Christian H.S./Jacksonville, Fla.) to contribute on the uneven bars. Hannah was second team All-ECAC on bars while Lindo was first team All-ECAC on bars and second team All-ECAC on the balance beam.