No. 2 Stanford men’s gymnastics will host Olympic Champion Japan and unranked California in the International Collegiate Open this weekend at Burnham Pavilion on Saturday at 4 p.m.
The Cardinal return home after competing at the 2019 Winter Cup in Las Vegas last weekend, when several Cardinal athletes, including three alumni, competed for a spot on the men’s national team. Grant Breckenridge, Bailey Perez, Andrew Bitner, Ian Gunther and Curran Phillips are all athletes on the current roster who represented Stanford at the competition.
All three alumni — Akash Modi, Robert Neff and Eddie Penev — earned a spot on the team, while senior Grant Breckenridge earned a bronze medal in the parallel bars (27.700) by the conclusion of the weekend. His performance was highlighted by a 14.100 score on Sunday.
Aside from the Winter Cup, the Cardinal have boasted some of the best scores in the country across every event, including the nation’s best pommel horse score (69.000) set against none other than our friends in Berkeley.
In terms of three-score averages, the Cardinal boast the top score in the nation in the parallel bars (70.283), as well as the second best score in four different events — floor (71.267), pommel horse (67.283), rings (69.783) and high bar (68.183). The Cardinal rank fourth in the vault (71.783).
While these team scores are quite spectacular for most teams in the NCAA, they aren’t surprising given the fact Stanford is home to some of the top talent in the country. Freshman Brody Malone ranks first (82.917) in the All-Around score, followed by Breckenridge in seventh (80.783). In the floor, graduate student Ryan Sheppard is tied for the top spot in the country with an average 14.583, followed by sophomore Bryan Perla in third (14.533) and junior Bailey Perez in fourth (14.467). Stanford is also home to some of the top talent in the parallel bars, with sophomore Blake Sun fourth (14.467) and Breckenridge fifth (14.317) in the country.
It’s to no one’s surprise that the Golden Bears, yet again, lack such skill and athleticism that the Cardinal have repeated shown this season. In their most recent meeting on Feb. 9, Stanford effectively competed against themselves. While the meet saw some of Cal’s best performances of the season, the Cardinal men ran, leaped and swung past the Bears in a 415.000-404.000 blowout performance.
The Cardinal will get another opportunity to demonstrate their superior abilities over Cal tomorrow when Japan comes for the International Collegiate Open. The former Olympic Champions will certain give the Cardinal tough competition that Cal would otherwise be unable to provide.
Festivities begin tomorrow at 4 p.m. PST in Burnham Pavilion.
Contact Alejandro Salinas at asalinas ‘at’ stanford.edu.