Jan. 24, 2009
Stanford - California Scoresheet
STANFORD, Calif. - The No. 6 Stanford men's gymnastics team suffered its second loss of the season tonight, falling to fourth-ranked California in the Stanford Open, 356.450 - 352.300. Nebraska finished in third with 334.700.
The Cardinal jumped out to an early lead after the first rotation, thanks to excellent scores on floor exercise by redshirt junior Greg Ter-Zakhariants (15.6), sophomore Josh Dixon (15.55), and redshirt senior Sho Nakamori (15.1).
Holding a 2.1-point advantage heading into pommel horse, Stanford needed a big round to match Cal's 59.05 on the event, earned in the first rotation. The Cardinal was unsuccessful in matching the Golden Bears, and scored a 52.15.
"The pommel horse was a not our best performance," said head coach Thom Glielmi. "From the first to the last guy, we didn't do our job out there and we can't expect to beat Cal with four missed routines on pommel."
After the second rotation, Stanford found itself trailing the Golden Bears by 4.3 points and needed to make up some ground in the remaining four events. The Cardinal outperformed Cal on still rings, led by sophomore Tim Gentry, who scored a 15.1. Also, redshirt sophomore Nicholas Noone and Ter-Zakhariants posted 14.9s to help boost Stanford's score.
The Cardinal faired exceptionally well on vault, as all six gymnasts posted a score of 15.3 or better. Gentry again led the way with a 16.05. Sophomore Kyle Oi also came up huge with a 15.85, while his classmate Josh Dixon posted a 15.65.
Parallel bars was the only other event in which the Golden Bears were able to best Stanford, as Cal outscored the Cardinal 58.5 - 56.55 on the event. Nakamori was the top athlete for Stanford on the apparatus, notching an even 15.
Nakamori (15.4) and Dixon (15.15) shined on high bar to finish out the evening, as both stuck their landing on the dismount. Cal, who finished up the final rotation on floor exercise, scored 1.6 fewer points in the event than the Cardinal but had enough of a cushion to hold onto the victory, winning by 4.15 points.
"Overall, we did better this meet than the last at Berkeley," said Gleilmi. "There's obviously still room for improvement, and we'll be getting back in the gym to work and get better."
Gentry finished with two event titles in still rings and vault, while Ter-Zakhariants finished with one event title on floor exercise and took fourth in all-around with an 85.75. Dixon and Oi each earned two second place finishes (Dixon - floor exercise, horizontal bar) (Oi - still rings, vault), and Dixon also took third in all-around with a 86.8. Nakamori took first on horizontal bar and second on parallel bars, and finally, Noone was one of three gymnasts to tie for second on still rings.
Stanford, now 1-2 on the season, will next suit up for the Winter Cup in Las Vegas on February 5. Glielmi will select his top gymnasts to travel to Las Vegas for the prestigious all-around competition at which the U.S. Senior Men's National Team will be determined.