Cardinal men hold off Wolverines

The No. 1 Stanford men’s gymnastics team beat the No. 6 Michigan Wolverines 361.300-361.150 in Ann Arbor last Sunday, despite the absence of top competitors junior Sho Nakamori and senior Dave Sender. Michigan defeated No. 2 Penn State earlier in the season, and the Wolverines gave the Cardinal all it could handle in a closely contested meet. Nakamori and Sender are in Doha, Qatar, competing for the US National Team in the 2008 World Cup.

Stanford began on floor exercise, one of the team’s strongest events. Redshirt sophomore Greg Ter-Zakhariants’s score of 15.500 won the event, in which he is currently ranked fifth in the nation. Pommel horse followed, and Stanford’s first competitors struggled. Freshman Josh Dixon only managed a 13.350, Ter-Zakhariants scored 13.500 and freshman Ryan Lieberman disappointed with a 12.150.

Freshman Kyle Oi, who has fought all season to earn a spot in the lineup, came through with a very good set that earned him a score of 14.650. His routine put some wind back in the Cardinal’s sails, and senior Chris Harper capped off the event with a high score of 15.150.

“We were a little sloppy,” said Harper. “Lieberman had a bad set on horse, but he stuck his set on [parallel bars] and finished the meet really well.”

On rings, strong performances from freshman Tim Gentry, junior Bryant Hadden and Lieberman kept the Stanford men close. But it was on vault that they put themselves in position for victory.

Stanford is ranked fourth in the NCAA on vault, and the team showed off its depth on Sunday. Competitors turned in high scores across the board, with Ter-Zakhariants, Dixon, Lieberman, freshman Alex Buscaglia and seniors Eli Alcaraz and Dylan Carney all earning scores of 15.450 or higher. Lieberman went on to win parallel bars with a stellar routine that earned a score of 15.500, while co-captain Carney exhibited his consistent excellence en route to winning high bar (15.400).

Stanford men’s gymnastics next competes in its final dual meet of the season this Saturday when it hosts the Cal in “The Big Flip Off.” The meet will be held at Maples Pavilion; competition begins at 7:00 p.m.

— Jacob Johnson