The Stanford men’s gymnastics team is out for revenge.

The Cardinal hosts Cal tomorrow night in the “Big Flip Off” at Maples Pavilion. It will be Senior Night for Stanford and the team’s last home meet of the season.

The Stanford men will be looking to make up for a tough loss to the Golden Bears in January. The meet will be reminiscent of their first meeting, as Stanford is once again ranked No. 1 in the nation and will be without USA National Team members Sho Nakamori and Dave Sender, who are currently competing at the 2008 World Cup in Doha, Qatar.

But the Cardinal has made huge strides since its only loss of the season. Senior Chris Harper has shaken off some early-season rust to regain his form on pommel horse, and he has won that event at the team’s past three meets. The six freshmen have gained valuable experience and are continually improving. Ryan Lieberman ‘11, after a strong meet last weekend at Michigan, was named MPSF Gymnast of the Week.

Lieberman called it “a great honor.” The freshman standout was able to bounce back from a poor first event to win parallel bars and put up good scores on rings and high bar. Apparently, the kids are buying into head coach Thom Glielmi’s program.

“Thom always tells us to keep your composure throughout the meet,” Lieberman said. “In between events, you’ve got to forget about what just happened and focus on the next event.”

After only managing to score 346.750 in their first meeting at Cal, the Stanford team has averaged 360.475 over four meets, tallying four consecutive victories. The higher scores are not just a result of Sender and Nakamori being back in the lineup — the Cardinal posted a 361.300 last weekend, en route to a win over No. 5 Michigan, despite missing their two National Team representatives.

This weekend, however, will likely prove a tougher test for the Stanford men. California is a dangerous team with some depth, and the Bears have the confidence of having already beaten the top-ranked Cardinal this year. Despite Cal’s early season struggles, senior co-captain Dylan Carney made it clear that the Stanford men would not underestimate the Bears.

“Cal has a lot of talent and lots of potential,” he said.

“When [Cal] hits, they are as good as anyone in the NCAA,” Harper added. “We are going to need four hits per event to win.”

California seniors Tim McNeil and Colin Christ lead a team that is motivated to avenge losses to Stanford at the Pacific Coast Classic and Stanford Open. McNeil is the reigning NCAA champion on pommel horse and parallel bars. But Lieberman and his teammates feel ready for the challenge.

“I’m excited,” Lieberman said. “Cal is one of our top competitors.”

The key to the Cardinal’s success will be its depth. It has been one of the team’s strong suits, and it is magnified when Sender and Nakamori are gone. And even after beating No. 5 Michigan, Stanford is as hungry as ever.

“We were not happy with our performance last weekend,” Carney said.

At 7:00 p.m. tomorrow, the Stanford gymnasts will try to prove once and for all that they are the deepest and most talented team in the nation.