April 16, 2009
Complete Results in PDF Format
MINNEAPOLIS - The top-ranked Stanford men's gymnastics team finished first in the afternoon NCAA qualifying meet today at the University of Minnesota, and earned a berth into tomorrow night's NCAA team finals.
As a team, the Cardinal captured four of the six event titles and earned three individual event titles. Stanford also earned its second-highest cumulative score of the season, 361.100, to top the five other teams. No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 California finished second and third respectively and also advance to tomorrow's final meet.
The Cardinal began competition on vault and set the standard for the meet, scoring a 63.850 that none of the other teams could match. Stanford swept the top three spots, as sophomore Josh Dixon won with a 16.250 while redshirt junior Greg Ter-Zakhariants tied with teammate sophomore Tim Gentry for second with scores of 15.950. Sophomore Alex Buscaglia rounded out the counting scores for the Cardinal with a 5th-place 15.800.
On parallel bars, Stanford was second only to California, who edged the Cardinal by 25-hundredths of a point on the apparatus. Redshirt senior Sho Nakamori took second with a 15.050 and sophomore Ryan Lieberman finished fourth with a season-best 14.750.
Stanford won its second event of the night on horizontal bar, finishing with a 58.900. The Cardinal was led by Buscaglia, who took third with a career-best 15.200. Nakamori came in fourth with an even 15.000, while Lieberman and Dixon tied for ninth with a 14.35.
Dixon picked up his second first-place finish of the day on floor exercise, notching a 15.600. Buscaglia earned second place with his second season best of the night, a 15.300, and Gentry came in sixth with a 15.150. Stanford was again the top team in a single event for the third-time with a 61.000.
The Cardinal competing on pommel horse collectively did not perform to its highest capability, but still provided some highlights nonetheless. Sophomore Kyle Oi tied with teammate senior Bryant Hadden for fifth with a 14.950, which were season highs for both gymnasts and a career high for Oi, but Stanford came in third on the apparatus behind the Wolverines and the Golden Bears on the notoriously difficult exercise.
The Cardinal closed out the day on still rings, with another individual title, as Gentry captured the top spot with a season-best 15.450. Redshirt sophomore Nick Noone tied for third with his career high of 15.250. Lieberman posted his best score of the year and earned 16th place with a 14.800.
Stanford awaits the last three opponents for tomorrow's finals, which will be determined in this evening's qualifying session and is set to begin at 7 p.m. CT.