In its first official competition of the season, the No. 1 Stanford men’s gymnastics team fell to No. 5 California, 349.650-348.700, in front of a packed crowd at Burnham Pavilion on Friday evening.
The Cardinal found itself with an early lead after the first rotation. Competing on floor exercise, senior Josh Dixon demonstrated his ability and reliability on the apparatus with a score of 15.0 while freshman Cale Robinson introduced himself to Cardinal fans with a score of 14.9. These scores afforded Stanford a team total of 58.7 and a lead of 2.1 as the men readied themselves for their next event.
On pommel horse, traditionally the Cardinal’s weakest event, the Stanford men struggled. Sophomore Jason Stevens and redshirt sophomore John Martin posted the team’s top scores with a 13.95 each, but Stanford’s lead over Cal dwindled to just 1.6 points.
The meet looked optimistic once again for the Card after still rings, a solid and strong event for Stanford. Senior co-captain Tim Gentry posted an impressive 15.4, while senior Ryan Lieberman and redshirt senior Nicholas Noone posted scores of 14.85 and 14.5, respectively.
After the Cardinal’s fourth rotation on vault, Stanford’s chances were looking even better. Dixon and senior Alex Buscaglia sat atop Stanford’s leaderboard with identical scores of 15.8. Stevens added a 15.65 and Lieberman contributed a 15.5, giving the Cardinal a team total of 62.75 and a 3.5-point lead over the Golden Bears.
However, the success was short-lived–after the Cardinal’s turn on parallel bars, the outlook again turned sour. Lieberman, the 2010 NCAA parallel bars champion, fell during his routine, as did two-time All-American Noone. After Cal aced several routines on the high bar, the Bears took over a 3.0-point lead over the Cardinal.
And although Stanford finishing with gusto on high bar–with impressive scores from Dixon and Buscaglia at 15.05 and 14.95, respectively–Stanford’s fate was sealed. Cal performed well on parallel bars, hanging on to its lead and sealing the competition.
Volunteer assistant coach Greg Ter-Zakhariants put a positive spin on the loss, noting that Friday’s defeat may be useful for the team in the long run.
“In 2009, [Stanford] did not win a single meet until the NCAA Championship,” he said. “In 2010, we won almost every single meet except the NCAA Championship. We’re reverting back to our 2009 strategy to get ready for April.”
But despite Ter-Zakhariants’ optimism, the Stanford men are not complacent after the loss.
“After last year’s second-place finish, we realized we have to leave no room for question,” said head coach Thom Glielmi.
The Cardinal will face Cal again next Saturday at 7 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion.