ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Stanford men’s gymnastics placed third at the NCAA Championships Friday, recording its eighth top-three finish in the past nine years.
The Cardinal scored 436.300 to finish behind first-place Michigan (445.050) and Oklahoma (441.650). Illinois placed fourth with a 435.350, followed by Ohio State (433.500) and Penn State (429.800).
Five Stanford gymnasts combined for eight top-10 finishes and qualified to Saturday’s NCAA Individual Event Finals.
Akash Modi placed second in the all-around with an 89.200. He advanced to the individual events finals with a second-place finish on parallel bars (15.550) and a fourth-place result on pommel horse (15.200).
Dennis Zaremski earned two fourth-place finishes in both of his events, going 15.300 on parallel bars and 15.050 on rings.
Michael Levy tied his career best on floor with a 15.450 to finish third. Brian Knott advanced to tomorrow’s individual event finals on parallel bars with a 15.100 to tie for ninth.
Stanford opened the meet with a 73.400 on floor, led by Sean Senters’ fifth-place finish with a 15.150. Taylor Seaton (14.950), Modi (14.850) and Kevin Baker (14.550) also delivered strong performances to put Stanford in second place after the first rotation.
Three Cardinal gymnasts went 15.100 or higher on parallel bars to help the team record its second-highest score in the event this season with a 74.700. Modi paced Stanford with a 15.550, followed by Knott (15.100) and Zaremski (15.100).
The Cardinal ran into adversity on high bar when the first two gymnasts scored below 14.000. Modi, Knott and Paul Hichwa helped get the team back on track with three consecutive scores of 14.500. Stanford finished the event with a 70.750 and slipped into third place.
Stanford responded with its third-highest score this season on floor with a 74.150. Levy paced the team with a 15.450 to finish third, followed by a 15.350 from Senters who tied for fifth.
Despite the great result on floor, Stanford remained in third place after four rotations. The Cardinal would again run into challenges on pommel horse with three gymnasts scoring in the mid-13.000s. Modi provided Stanford’s highest score with a 15.200 to finish fourth.
The Cardinal entered the final rotation in fourth place but rallied for a 72.200 on rings to claim third. Zaremski led the team with a 15.050 to finish fourth, followed by Levy (14.500) and Brandon Beckhardt (14.300).
Stanford will have five gymnasts compete in Saturday’s NCAA Individual Event Finals at 4 p.m. A free web stream and live stats will be available via GoStanford.com.
Team Results
1. Michigan (445.050)
2. Oklahoma (441.650)
3. Stanford (436.300)
4. Illinois (435.350)
5. Ohio State (433.500)
6. Penn State (429.800)
Stanford Top-10 Individual Finshers
(These gymnasts qualified to the NCAA Individual Event Finals.)
Floor
3. Michael Levy, 15.450
T-5. Sean Senters, 15.350
Pommel Horse
4. Akash Modi, 15.200
Still Rings
4. Dennis Zaremski, 15.050
Vault
5. Sean Senters, 15.150
Parallel Bars
2. Akash Modi, 15.550
4. Dennis Zaremski, 15.300
T-9. Brian Knott, 15.100