The Stanford men's gymnastics team proved its mettle once again, asserting that it is the team to beat. The top-ranked Cardinal avenged an early season loss to California last Saturday night at Maples Pavilion, edging the Golden Bears by a narrow 356.150-355.650 margin.

EnlargeEnlarge
Senior David Sender got the night off against Cal, but his teammates bested the Bears nonetheless. #gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/8754
Alex Oppenheimer

Senior David Sender got the night off against Cal, but his teammates bested the Bears nonetheless.

Stanford's win was all the more impressive considering the squad was once again without stars Dave Sender and Sho Nakamori. The Cardinal's two representatives to the U.S. National Team were recovering from jet lag after recently returning from the 2008 World Cup in Qatar, and were given the night off.

It was Senior Night for the Cardinal, and the team's six seniors - Eli Alcaraz, Dylan Carney, Chris Harper, Nakamori, David Sender, and Jason Shen - were honored before the competition for their academic and athletic accomplishments.

The six have big plans beyond their Stanford careers on the mats: Alcaraz will be finishing his degree and applying to law school; Carney has been admitted to Stanford Medical School; Harper will be working at a local law firm and applying to law school; Nakamori will compete for the U.S. National Team and Stanford in his final year of eligibility; Sender will by applying to veterinary school; and Shen will be pursuing a co-terminal master's degree at Stanford.

The Cardinal started competition on floor exercise and had stellar routines from Carney (third place, 15.500), freshman Josh Dixon (second, 15.550) and sophomore Greg Ter-Zakhariants (first, 15.850). Ter-Zakhariants is currently ranked first in the nation on floor, and he solidified his ranking with another fine performance on Saturday.

Stanford struggled on pommel horse, though Harper came in second with a solid score of 15.000. Cal senior Tim McNeil won the event with a 15.400. McNeil, the NCAA champ on the horse in 2006 and 2007, wowed the crowd with a perfectly executed Full Kher, a skill requiring the athlete to complete a 360 degree spin on the apparatus while supported by only one arm.

"If I'm going to lose to someone, I don't mind losing to a two-time NCAA champion," Harper said of McNeil after the meet. "The important thing is that the team won. It's not about the individuals."

The Cardinal went to still rings next, where strong sets from junior Bryant Hadden and freshman Tim Gentry helped build the team's lead. Gentry is ranked sixth in the NCAA on rings, and his score of 15.150 was tops in the event. Stanford continued to roll after moving on to the vault vault, sweeping the event with top scores from Ter-Zakhariants (15.950), Dixon (16.000) and Carney (16.050).

Stanford had a commanding lead of 239.800 to 235.150 after four rotations. But after sub-par performances on horizontal bar, the Cardinal almost allowed the Bears to stage an incredible comeback. While Stanford put up a mediocre team score of 58.250 on high bar, Cal hit their sets and put up a huge score of 61.400 on parallel bars.

"I think [the team] got a little too comfortable going into the last event," said head coach Thom Glielmi.

The Bears are the No. 1 team in the nation on parallel bars and they proved it on Saturday. Stanford went into the final event with close to a four-point cushion, but Cal quickly narrowed the margin by sweeping parallel bars. Junior Tyson Bunthuwong came in third with a 15.350, and seniors Tim McNeil and Colin Christ tied for first with scores of 15.450.

Carney had a good high bar routine that earned him a 15.000, and the team's early lead gave them just enough breathing room to come out with a win. It was Stanford's fifth consecutive win, and the team was able to avenge its only loss of the season after falling at Cal in January.

The team's next competition will be the "Cardinal vs. White" Alumni Meet on Mar. 29. The meet will be held in Burnham Pavilion at 4 p.m. Last year's NCAA still rings champion Alex Schorsch '07 will be making his triumphant return to the gym, while the current Stanford gymnasts will undergo their final tune-ups for the MPSF championships in April.