April 12, 2007
State College, PA - No. 4 men's gymnastics took first in their half of the preliminary session, advancing to tomorrow's team finals. The Cardinal posted a final score of 216.35 to take the top spot, while Illinois and Michigan also advanced to tomorrow's finals from Session I.
Stanford began the competition on the still rings where they turned in a masterful performance to earn an event total of 38.25, setting the bar high for the following teams. Bryant Hadden impressed the judges with his great swing work and a double front pike dismount to earn a score of 9.70. David Sender took second in the event for the Cardinal as he displayed perfect malteses to earn a 9.65.
Next up was the vault where Sender excelled once again. His performance included a great yurchenko two and a half twist, earning him a team high score of 9.2. Greg Ter-Zakhariants also turned in a strong showing as he displayed great form on his kazamatsu full to post a score of 8.90. The Cardinal was able to record an event score of 35.5 to take the lead after two events.
The team then moved to the parallel bars where they had some uncharacteristic mistakes. Sender once again turned in the high score of the team with a solid overall routine earning him an 8.80. The mistakes added up however, and Stanford slipped to second place behind Illinois going into the fourth event.
The high bar gave the Cardinal a chance to get back in the groove as Dylan Carney led the way with a very clean routine to earn a score of 9.65. Bryant Hadden put together a solid routine as well with nice kovaks and el work to earn an 8.85. Stanford was able to jump back into the lead with a total score of 142.4 after four events.
On the floor exercise it was Carney and Ter-Zakhariants recording team high scores once again. Carney had a great first pass and then stuck his double full dismount to earn 9.40 from the judges. Ter-Zakhariants routine was very powerful and included a huge full twisting double tuck to match Carney's score of 9.40. Sender's score of 9.30 kept him atop the All-Around competition heading into the final event. Despite the great routines, Stanford now found themselves trailing Illinois by a score of 180.7 to 180.95 with just the pommel horse remaining.
Chris Harper handled the pressure and put together a great routine with a very strong finish to earn a team high score of 9.20. Brice Rolston also turned in a solid, clean set to post a score of 9.10. The Cardinal was able to nudge past Illinois, taking the title by just .05 points, with the final score of 216.35-216.30. Sender recorded a score of 8.50 in the final event to claim second in the All-Around competition with a score of 54.25.
The team returns to action tomorrow as they compete for the national championship at 4:00 p.m. PT, with the individual all-around champion also being crowned that evening. The following evening, Saturday, April 14, the individual event finals will be held at 4:00 p.m. PT, with six national titles and All-American honors at stake.