After returning to collegiate competition less than a week ago, No. 15 Stanford men’s gymnastics (1-1, 1-0 MPSF) looks to build on its dominating performance against Cal in its third and final virtual meet of the season against No. 9 Navy (0-1, 0-0 ECAC).
The Midshipmen are also coming off a third-straight All-Academy Championship after defeating No. 11 Air Force and No. 13 Army by over a 16-point margin.
Stanford is almost back to its championship-caliber status despite not having the reigning MPSF Gymnast of the Year junior Brody Malone and CGA Freshman of the Year sophomore Brandon Briones back in the lineup.
In Malone’s and Briones’ absences, sophomore Riley Loos has stepped up, claiming the all-around, floor exercise and still rings titles against Cal. His efforts earned him the MPSF Gymnast of the Week honors.
“It was nice to get Riley Loos back,” head coach Thom Glielmi wrote in an email. “It was obvious he was rusty in front of judges but helped us tremendously.”
The two Blakes on Stanford’s roster have been rock solid for the Cardinal this season. Senior team captain Blake Sun has held down the fort in his signature event, the parallel bars. His two consecutive event titles demonstrate his steadiness and artistry on the event.
“Blake Sun on the parallel event is simply beautiful to watch,” wrote Glielmi. “He makes extremely difficult elements look effortless.”
Junior Blake Wilson has proved this season to be a person to count on when the Cardinal needs reliable points.
“Honestly, the highlight for me was Blake Wilson on parallel bars,” wrote Glielmi about Wilson on his first outing on the parallel bars. “While the routine was nothing special in difficulty, he executed it almost perfectly and produced a solid score for the team.”
A trio of Navy seniors, David Toussaint, Ryan McVay and Travis Keller, looks to lead the Midshipmen in Navy’s first virtual meet of the season.
Toussaint and McVay have earned event titles in the floor exercise and pommel horse, respectively. Keller boosted the Navy’s performance with a career-high 14.950 on the vault, claiming the event title. Stanford junior Curran Phillips earned the same score on the vault in the Cardinal’s loss to William & Mary.
Keller and Phillips now hold the highest score on the vault in the nation this year.
The Cardinal will kick off its final virtual meet of the season on Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. PT. Information about viewing the competition can be found here.
Contact Jordan John Lee at jjslee22 ‘at’ stanford.edu.