With only months remaining before the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, athletes from all over the world are hard at work perfecting their skills. Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of men’s gymnastics. At last weekend’s Winter Cup in Las Vegas, Nev., a qualifying meet for the US Senior National Team, the best gymnasts in the U.S. — including a number of Stanford gymnasts — showed that they are ready to rise to the challenge.

To Stanford head coach Thom Glielmi, it comes as no surprise.

“In any Olympic year the competition gets dialed up,” he said. “But the extra pressure and tough competition didn’t seem to bother two of the Cardinal’s top gymnasts — senior David Sender and junior Sho Nakamori both reclaimed their spots on the Senior National Team with solid performances over the weekend.

For Sender, that’s what it’s all about.

“The challenge is what keeps you going,” said the two-time NCAA vault champion. “It’s going to be an exciting year for both Stanford gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Team.”

The Cardinal sent nine gymnasts to the Winter Cup. Hopes were high for a group including freshmen Alex Buscaglia, Josh Dixon, Tim Gentry, and Ryan Lieberman, as well as upperclassmen Bryant Hadden, Eli Alcaraz, Dylan Carney, Nakamori and Sender.

However, the meet did not start off well for the Cardinal. Even with solid performances from Gentry and Lieberman, the team had trouble finding any rhythm.

“The guys were flat,” Glielmi said.

Nakamori, already a National Team member after being named to the 2007 World Championship team, fought cramps throughout the weekend.

“[The meet] didn’t start off too well because my legs cramped up during warm-ups and I ended up doing a terrible vault,” said Nakamori.

After scratching his floor exercise in prelims, Nakamori came back strong in the finals on Saturday.

“My legs felt a lot better so I was able to compete in the all-around [competition] but . . . it still didn’t feel 100 percent.”

Sender, usually one of Stanford’s most reliable competitors, was a little off during prelims, falling on the pommel horse and vault.

Despite the early struggles, seven of the nine Stanford athletes advanced to day two.

Glielmi, though disappointed with the team’s performance in prelims, knew that his athletes were in good position to finish strong in the finals: “If compared to the rest of the field I’d have to say we did well, but not exactly what we have been training.”

A refocused team showed up to the finals on Saturday.

“It was obvious from the start the guys were comfortable, ready to go,” said Gliemi. “[They] wanted redemption for their spotty performance on Thursday.”

Stanford’s finalists performed well on each apparatus, with particularly high scores on floor exercise and pommel horse.

Having so many teammates competing alongside one another was a big factor in the Cardinal’s success.

“This was an individual meet,” said Nakamori, “but since so many of us qualified through to the final day of competition, it felt like a team meet . . . the seven of us that qualified through took up one whole rotation.”

Sender performed great routines on floor exercise and parallel bars and entered the final day of competition in fourth place in the all-around. He held his standing and solidified his National Team spot.

But neither he nor Nakamori is celebrating — they are back training with their teammates this week, preparing for Stanford’s dual meet with Nebraska on Saturday. Right now, the focus has shifted back to preparing for the NCAA Championships in April.

Stanford next returns to action when it hosts the Cornhuskers this Saturday at Burnham Pavilion. Competition begins at 7 p.m. with admission free to the public.