STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford finished fourth at NCAA Championships with a score of 408.725, closing out another consistent season in which the Cardinal ranked among the nation's elite.
Stanford (22-6 overall) has now produced a top-five finish at NCAA Championships every year since 2006. The Cardinal last finished outside the top five in 2005, taking eighth overall at 218.375. This season was no different, with Stanford emerging as the winner of its Friday semifinal with a 407.390 and outperforming Minnesota, Nebraska, Michigan, Navy and Air Force in the afternoon session. In Saturday's final, the Cardinal started fast and held the lead through three rotations before falling back and finishing behind four-time defending NCAA champion Oklahoma, runner-up Minnesota and third-place Illinois.
Stanford was ranked among the country's top-six throughout the entire season, including a one-week stay at the No. 1 spot. The Cardinal finished the year ranked second on parallel bars, third on high bar, sixth in still rings, sixth on vault, seventh on floor and 11th on pommel horse.
Neff Excels In Senior SeasonSenior Robert Neff capped his career on The Farm with an outstanding senior season in which he achieved at a high level both academically and athletically.
Neff closed out his career as a two-time NCAA champion in the high bar (2017, 2018) and six-time All-American, claiming titles in the high bar (3), all-around (2) and parallel bars (1). Neff guided the Cardinal to four top-four NCAA Championships finishes, including runner-up efforts during his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Neff, who nailed a season-high 14.766 on the high bar to repeat as NCAA champion, became only the fifth Cardinal gymnast to claim back-to-back NCAA titles and the first since Akash Modi accomplished the feat by winning parallel bars in 2016-17.
One more look at the routine that made Robert Neff a back-to-back NCAA champ on high bar. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/qOIfM1HpSx
— Stanford Gymnastics (@StanfordMGym) April 24, 2018
A 2018 Nissen-Emery Award finalist, Neff captured nine individual event titles in his senior campaign and owned Stanford's top score in three events: pommel horse (14.300), high bar (14.766) and all-around (83.450).
Named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large second team, Neff was one of four Cardinal student-athletes honored, along with Ella Eastin (women's swimming and diving), Katie Ledecky (women's swimming and diving) and Makenzie Fischer (women's water polo).
A computer science major and German Studies minor boasting a 3.67 GPA, Neff also recently received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, earning a one-time grant of $7,500 for his academic and athletic achievements.
Make it one more academic honor for Robert Neff. #GoStanford
A post shared by Stanford Men's Gymnastics (@stanfordmensgymnastics) on Jun 15, 2018 at 8:49am PDT
Four All-Americans; 29 Individual Event TitlesJoining Robert Neff as All-Americans were junior Grant Breckenridge and freshman Blake Sun, who both produced impressive performances at NCAA Championships.
Finishing right behind Neff on the high bar was Breckenridge, who posted a 14.500 to take second overall. Breckenridge, who wrapped up the year with two individual event titles, also owned the team's top score on still rings (14.150). Also earning All-America accolades was Sun, who took fifth overall on parallel bars when he matched a season best of 14.400. Sun notched four individual event titles overall – all on parallel bars, an event in which he produced Stanford's top six scores.
Cardinal with four All-Americans in 2018. #GoStanford
— Stanford Gymnastics (@StanfordMGym) April 26, 2018
? Grant Breckenridge (high bar)
? Robert Neff (high bar, all-around)
? Blake Sun (parallel bars) pic.twitter.com/ntP2ceHrnZ
Stanford captured 29 individual event titles overall in 2018, with senior Ryan Sheppard also finishing with four (three all-around, one still rings). Connor Lewis finished with three, Thomas Lee and Joey Ringer both contributed two while David Jessen, Bryan Perla and Bailey Perez finished with one apiece.
MPSF Championships Runner-UpStanford produced a runner-up finish at the MPSF Championships, totaling a score of 404.150 to trail only Oklahoma, which recorded a 414.050 to capture its seventh consecutive MPSF crown. The Cardinal was chasing its fifth MPSF title in school history and first since 2011, when it also won the national championship.
It was Stanford's second of three competitions against Oklahoma in 2018, with the Sooners also prevailing in a tri-meet in Norman, Oklahoma, back on Feb. 3. The rivals then met for a final time at NCAA Championships.
The Cardinal opened with a 63.250 on pommel horse, followed with a 68.300 on still rings and reached the halfway point with a 70.600 on vault.
Stanford takes second at MPSF Championships.
— Stanford Gymnastics (@StanfordMGym) April 8, 2018
Final scores on floor: Perez (13.700), Neff (13.650), Sheppard (13.650), Bitner (12.200) and Lewis (12.100). #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/GSOAMdGtgT
Stanford's final three events concluded with a 69.250 on parallel bars, then a 67.450 on high bar and closed with a 65.300 on floor exercise.
Stanford produced the meet's highest score on parallel bars, with Blake Sun's 14.300 good for second overall and Grant Breckenridge's season-high 14.200 placing third. Breckenridge was also the runner-up on still rings, tallying a career-best 14.150. Sun also placed second on the pommel horse with a 13.500 while David Jessen's 13.100 checked in fourth.
On the high bar, Jessen and Robert Neff both chalked up a 14.250 to finish tied for second.
MPSF All-Academic SuccessStanford was recognized with nine MPSF All-Academic Scholar-Athletes. The criteria for an MPSF All-Academic Scholar-Athlete is as follows: maintain a 3.00 or better cumulative GPA, must be at least a sophomore academically and must have competed in at least 50 percent of the team's competitions.
| Name | Year | GPA (Major) |
|---|---|---|
| Jacob Barrus | Sr. | 3.29 (Mechanical Engineering) |
| Grant Breckenridge | Jr. | 3.39 (Computer Science) |
| David Jessen | So. | 3.63 (Undeclared) |
| Connor Lewis | So. | 3.38 (Undeclared) |
| Robert Neff | Sr. | 3.66 (Computer Science) |
| Bailey Perez | So. | 3.33 (Undeclared) |
| Ryan Sheppard | Sr. | 3.22 (Engineering) |
| Joey Ringer | So. | 3.34 (Undeclared) |
| Gareth Weiss | So. | 3.04 (Engineering) |
Italy Trip Highlights Late-Season StretchStanford broke from its in-season schedule and embarked on a 10-day trip to Italy from March 22-31, visiting Milan, Florence, Como and Siena while competing against national team athletes.
Stanford is able to take a foreign trip and compete in an international competition once every four years, resulting in some form of overseas travel in a two-year cycle. This was the Cardinal's first international journey since visiting Norway in 2013.
Enjoying our ???? Spring Break. #GoStanford
A post shared by Stanford Men's Gymnastics (@stanfordmensgymnastics) on Mar 27, 2018 at 11:14am PDT
Competing in an FIG format with five athletes per event and four scores counted for the team overall, the Cardinal produced a 319.400 to best Italy's total of 307.500. Stanford's participants included Grant Breckenridge, David Jessen, Connor Lewis, Robert Neff, Bailey Perez, Joey Ringer and Ryan Sheppard.
"The trip was really inspiring for our team and we are extremely fortunate to have the Italian team host such an outstanding event," said head coach Thom Glielmi. "We rarely have time for cultural excursions, but being spring break, we were able to take in some of Italy's cultural history. We are thankful for Pianeta Sports Tours, which accommodated our training schedule to provide tours of Bologna, Como, Florence, Milan and Siena. This is a trip we will remember the rest of our lives."