In yet another Bay Area faceoff this season, No. 4 Stanford brought down No. 18 Cal, just edging its neighborhood rivals 342.70-340.85, at the Gold Country Classic in Livermore, Calif. Stanford remains undefeated this season after winning all four of its competitive meets.
After an exhausting weekend at the Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas, co-captain Tim Gentry and fellow juniors Alex Buscaglia, Josh Dixon and Ryan Lieberman rested up on the sidelines at the Classic and allowed some of Stanford’s underclassmen to shine.
“The meet was a great opportunity for the guys trying to break into the lineup and gain needed experience,” said head coach Thom Glielmi.
And with Cal bringing all of its high-scoring stars to the meet, Stanford knew it had to hit all of its routines in order to take home the Classic title.
While some routines were gently slapped rather than hit, Stanford had a strong showing overall — evidence that even without some of its key players, the Card is still a formidable opponent.
Both senior Eric Hergenrader and sophomore Jordan Nolff hit their pommel horse routines, with Hergenrader stealing the event title. Freshman James Fosco, who has long been known as a serious contender on the still rings, won that event with a 15.0, while Nolff debuted a new routine that earned a solid 14.65.
Freshman Eddie Penev again displayed his athletic prowess on floor exercise, earning the top score of 15.45, while co-captain and redshirt sophomore Abhinav Ramani proved to be a serious contender with a 14.65. Penev also vaulted to victory with a score of 15.65 on that apparatus.
Late in the evening, Stanford struggled on parallel bars and ended up with a team total of just 56.45 on that event, sinking below expectations for the meet.
Poor landings, extra swings and botched difficulty contributed to major and minor point deductions, according to Glielmi.
Redeeming themselves, the Stanford men hit all four of their high bar routines, with Ramani getting the men off to a great start and Penev giving them a nice conclusion.
Cal, for its part, had a particularly weak showing at the Classic, seemingly troubled on every single event. Several of its gymnasts belly-flopped off the high bar, normally an outstanding event for Cal. According to Glielmi, had Cal’s men hit their sets, Cal could have stolen the Classic trophy.
Next up, Stanford travels north to Oakland for the 2010 Pacific Coast Classic (PCC). Joining Stanford will be Cal, Arizona State University, the University of Iowa, the University of Washington and the Japan Collegiate All-Star Team.
Japan has traveled several thousand miles across the ocean to defend its Pacific Coast Classic title and has been sizing itself up against Stanford all week in practice at Burnham Pavilion on campus.
Returning for Japan are Riku Munakata, Go Tagashira and Kazuaki Koizumi. Tagashira and Munakata placed first and second on vault at the 2009 PCC. Koizumi placed third on high bar at last year’s event.
For Stanford, this is an opportunity to size itself up against national and international competition before it heads east next month for a series of out-of-state meets that lead up to April’s NCAA Championship.
The Pacific Coast Classic will be held at the Oakland Convention Center on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.