The third time was the charm for Stanford men’s gymnastics. After two straight season-opening losses to the California Golden Bears in 2008 and 2009, No. 1 Stanford finally broke through last Friday night at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. This Saturday, No. 2 Cal looks to return the favor when it comes to The Farm.

While several Stanford men posted tremendous scores that contributed to the team’s 352.75-340.10 win over Cal, head coach Thom Glielmi remained humble about Friday’s victory. When asked where he saw room for improvement after Friday’s meet, Glielmi simply answered, “Everywhere.”

After all, Cal suddenly found itself at a disadvantage last Friday when sophomore Glen Ishino, one of Cal’s top all-around competitors, injured himself during warm-ups. As a result, Cal sent just five men to each event and therefore had to count all five scores in its team total. The slightest misstep on any one routine affected Cal’s score. Meanwhile, Stanford sent six men to each event and therefore had the opportunity to selectively count its top five scores. According to Stanford redshirt senior and captain Greg Ter-Zakhariants, who is also a member of The Daily’s business staff, Cal could have added 10 points to its final score had Ishino been able to compete.

Stanford did have some impressive moments. While junior Tim Gentry’s rings routine and junior Ryan Lieberman’s high bar routine posted big scores, sophomore Cameron Foreman’s parallel bars routine added a bit of humor to the long night.

After missing his grip on a release move, Foreman ended up with his pants leg caught on the edge of the bar. Fans, friends, rivals and teammates could not help but join together in laughter as Foreman hung helplessly from the apparatus. After 10 long seconds of tugging, Foreman finally jumped down, ran for a new pair of pants and got back on the bars to finish his routine.

As Stanford prepares for its upcoming meets, Glielmi and his men are adding difficulty to their routines and perfecting their execution.

Stanford’s goal, according to Ter-Zakhariants, is to treat each gym session like a competition and to have each competition mirror a gym session.

“We don’t want anything exceptionally different on the competition floor,” he said.

While he acknowledges that there will be fluctuations in each person’s performance, Ter-Zakhariants wants each of his teammates to go out knowing exactly what to do and expect.

This is especially important for the freshmen. Three of Stanford’s five freshmen started their collegiate gymnastics careers last Friday, with freshman Eddie Penev posting particularly high scores.

With that first competition out of the way, Stanford’s newcomers and veterans are focusing on the road ahead. As they make their way toward April’s NCAA Championship, they will be using each competition as a lesson on what needs attention and improvement.

Each face-off with Cal will be especially important in the weeks to come. According to Ter-Zakhariants, having such a top-ranked team so close to home helps Stanford gauge its progress toward the NCAA Championship. Not only is Cal known for its clean, high-level gymnastics, it boasts three strong all-around contenders — senior Brian del Castillo, junior Kyle Bunthuwong and Ishino.

The stronger Stanford becomes against its rivals, the more prepared it will be for another national championship.
Saturday’s meet will be held at 7 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion.