The No. 6 Stanford men’s gymnastics team sent California for a flip this past weekend, as the Cardinal came out on top with a decisive 214.45-210.55 win at the Big Flip Off. Stanford improved to 3-0 for the season, and it looks to move up the ranks and contend for a national championship.

The Cardinal came into Friday’s match at Burnham Pavilion with 11 rather than the standard 12 gymnasts. Injuries have plagued the 16-man roster, putting pressure on each remaining gymnast to perform.

“I don’t think we were worried, but we were very aware of the importance of each routine,” junior co-captain David Sender said.

With Stanford handicapped, the No. 9 Golden Bears (2-3) were looking to take advantage, and Sender said the Cardinal “didn’t count Cal out.”

“They’re a talented team, and if they can put it all together, they can rival most other teams — they just haven’t yet,” he said.

The Bears couldn’t prove themselves yet again, as Stanford won five of the six events, with four of the top finishes. Sender led the Cardinal with the top team finish in four of the six events, with two of those as the top event scores. Senior Peter Derman and sophomore Bryant Hadden paced Stanford on the rings, each recording a 9.4.

Starting the Cardinal off on Friday was Greg Ter-Zakhariants on the floor exercise. Coming off of hand, neck, knee and wrist injuries, the sophomore had a rough start, but finished with a full twisting double back and clean double full dismount. The routine was soon followed by junior Eric Alcaraz’s event-high 9.3 — his first collegiate win.

“Eric had a very good meet and he stepped up for us with a solid vault and a high score on the floor, which we were struggling on,” Sender said.

It was the first of Sender’s two event wins for the night that followed, slightly extending Stanford’s early lead from the floor (36.1) over Cal’s performance on the pommel horse (34.4). Switching over to the horse, Sender had a team-high 9.05 for a 34.9 Cardinal total compared to the Golden Bears’ 34.6 on floor in the rotation.

Stanford followed with its strongest event of the night, the rings; despite missing four contenders was able to dominate with the bare-minimum four gymnasts each scoring above a 9.0. Before Derman and Hadden each scored a 9.4, Josh Goldman stuck the landing on a career performance to earn a 9.15.

“I think he did his best-ever routine on the rings,” Sender said. “He was first up among the four guys we had, and that’s a really important position because it sets the tone for the rest. I think he did especially well for himself and for the team.”

The Cardinal increased its lead 37.3-34.1 on the rotation, but in the next, the Bears made up some ground on the rings with a 37.05. Stanford scored a 34.75 on the vault, led by Sender’s event-high 9.2, which included his signature Yerchenko two and a half.

Despite his top finishes, Sender was disappointed with his performances because of the high standards he has set for himself as a four-time All-American and member of the national team, regardless of the rest of the of the competition.

“I wasn’t entirely happy with my performance,” Sender said. “The scores were okay, but I was under the weather and my balance was off, so I didn’t do as well as I normally do in practice or other meets.”

It was the following parallel and high bars that proved the greatest challenge for the rest of the Cardinal’s short roster. Like the rings, each event featured only four Stanford gymnasts; six are allowed to compete with the top four scores counting. Senior co-captain Dylan Carney described the problems already inherent in two such “inconsistent” events as the parallel and high bars, each featuring complex release moves — or opportunities to fall.

“When you only have four guys up there, there’s a lot more pressure on them, and you know that if they mess up, it’s going to count,” Carney said.

Despite the pressure, Sender had a team-high 9.2 on the parallel bars, with Stanford scoring a total of 35.6. He also led the high bars with an event-high 9.4. Carney, the defending NCAA high bar champion, had a 9.3 for the event.

“I was disappointed with my score, although it was high,” Carney said. “I missed our team’s highest skill, which is the first skill, a turning skill. I only got halfway through and lost a tenth of a point.”

Despite small missteps in each event, the Cardinal proved themselves against the Bears, wrapping up another 35.8 on the last rotation for the overall 214.45-210.55 win.

“We really stepped it up for nearly five full points in our win,” Carney said. That’s half a routine. Hopefully, by fixing our mistakes, we can win the next by five more points.”

Stanford next travels Oakland, Calif. for the annual Pacific Coast Classic at the Oakland Convention Center on Saturday. There the Cardinal will meet up with top-ranked Michigan and No. 4 Oklahoma, among many other ranked teams, including Cal. The Cardinal consider the coming weekend an opportunity to show their strength en route to the national championship.

“Against those ranked teams, we can prove ourselves,” Sender said. “I’m excited because I think we can beat them and make a statement to the judges, the other teams and the entire gymnastics community. They’ll look at us seriously as a contender for the championship. I think the team is excited, and hoping to do its best.”