MEDA, Italy - No. 4 Stanford's 10-day trip to Italy concluded Friday night with a successful competition against select national team athletes.
Competing in an FIG format with five athletes per event and four scores counted for the team overall, the Cardinal produced a 319.400 to best Italy's total of 307.500.
Stanford's participants included Grant Breckenridge, David Jessen, Connor Lewis, Robert Neff, Bailey Perez, Joey Ringer and Ryan Sheppard. The Cardinal surged back on floor exercise after struggling on the horizontal bar.
???? trip off to a great start!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/9qxG3nhMrT
— Stanford Gymnastics (@StanfordMGym) March 27, 2018
Most team members had an opportunity to compete in the open division. Andrew Bitner (13.85) and Gareth Weiss (13.40) led Stanford on the floor, finishing second and third, respectively.
Ringer (14.1) and Sheppard (13.4) finished 1-2 on pommel horse. Breckenridge placed second on rings with a 13.25. Perez (14.55) and Lewis (14.3) finished first and third, respectively, on vault. Blake Sun (14.3) and Sheppard went 1-2 on parallel bars. On horizontal bar, Neff's 14.0 led all competitors while Perez (13.2) took third.
Neff and Sheppard tied in the all-around with a score of 79.55.
"The trip has been really inspiring for our team and we are extremely fortunate to have the Italian team host such an outstanding event," said head coach Thom Glielmi. "We rarely have time for cultural excursions, but being spring break, we were able to take in some of Italy's cultural history. We are thankful for Pianeta Sports Tours, which accommodated our training schedule to provide tours of Bologna, Como, Florence, Milan and Siena. This is a trip we will remember the rest of our lives."
Last training day in Meda complete. Competition tomorrow against Italian National Team! #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/TwZNpC71Vy
— Syque Caesar OLY (@SyqueCaesar) March 29, 2018
Stanford is able to take a foreign trip and compete in an international competition once every four years, resulting in some form of overseas travel in a two-year cycle. This was the Cardinal's first international journey since visiting Norway in 2013.
Stanford returns to action on April 7, participating in the MPSF Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado.