STANFORD, Calif. – No. 3 Stanford extended its winning streak over No. 4 California to nine Saturday evening, earning a convincing 435.200-426.350 victory in the Cardinal’s home opener.
It was the second Stanford win in as many weeks over the Golden Bears after earning the victory last week in Berkeley.
And the results from both meets are eerily similar.
For the second consecutive week Stanford won four of six events, Cardinal gymnasts claimed six individual victories and Akash Modi and Chris Turner delivered standout performances.
After a collegiate debut that earned him conference and national recognition, Akash Modi continued to shine in his debut on The Farm. Modi earned the individual win on parallel bars, delivering an outstanding routine to earn a 15.850. According to the College Gymnastics Association, Modi’s score is the fourth-highest all-time collegiate score since the scoring system was adjusted in 2008.
Modi also posted victories in the all-around with a 90.100 and floor with a 15.400, for the second straight week.
“With Akash being a freshman, no matter how good you are in the junior ranks, there’s a transition period into the senior and collegiate ranks and he hasn’t missed a step,” head coach Thom Glielmi said. “He’s into the team concept and clearly a big contributor.”
Turner continued the strong start to his senior campaign, finishing first on pommel horse with a collegiate-best 15.100 and tying California’s Donothan Bailey for the high bar victory with a collegiate-best 14.950. Turner also posted collegiate-bests in the all-around (87.150) and parallel bars (15.000).
“He’s put in so much time and work over the past three and a half years, and it’s nice to see him enjoying competing without being stressed out,” Glielmi said.
Along with Modi and Turner, Stanford received balanced scoring from a variety of Cardinal gymnasts throughout the meet. Stanford outscored California on pommel horse (72.250-66.150), rings (72.750-72.600), vault (73.900-73.750) and parallel bars (73.100-69.550).
“What really stood out to me was how the team paced themselves, especially for the second meet of the season,” Glielmi said. “The leadership of the captains keeps the team on track and focused so they’re able to be consistent in all six events.”
Freshman Taylor Seaton had a big day on vault and claimed the first individual victory of his collegiate career, recording a meet-best 15.300. He was followed by Kevin Baker who tallied a collegiate-best 15.000 and Mike Levy (14.650).
Stanford got off to strong start on floor to take an early 71.050-66.150 lead after the first rotation and never trailed in the competition. Modi led the way on floor with a 15.400, followed by Levy (14.500) and Jonathan Deaton (14.300).
The Cardinal hit all six pommel horse routines and had five of six gymnasts score 14.050 or higher. Turner led with a 15.100, followed by Modi (14.850), Andrew Misiolek (14.150) and Andrew McCabe (14.100).
Stanford’s rings team continued provide consistent scores with Modi earning top marks on the team with a 15.150. Mike Levy earned a collegiate-best 15.100 and was followed by Jordan DeClerk (14.450) and Brandon Beckhardt (14.100).
Turner and Baker tallied collegiate bests on parallel bars, scoring 15.000 and 14.400, respectively. David Frankl contributed a strong routine as well with a 14.150.
Holding a comfortable lead entering the final rotation, the Cardinal closed out the meet with six hit routines on high bar. Turner led the way with a collegiate-best 14.950, followed by Paul Hichwa (14.850) and Modi (14.500).
Stanford will see California for a third consecutive week next Saturday at the Stanford Open in Burnham Pavilion at 7 p.m. The two schools will be joined by defending NCAA Champion, Michigan, and the Washington club team.