CHICAGO - No. 6 Stanford produced a 407.390 in the first of two NCAA Qualifier sessions on Friday, earning a first-place finish and advancing to Saturday's final.
Stanford was consistent throughout the meet, earning the top score on pommel horse (65.532) and parallel bars (69.065).
The Cardinal, which placed third or higher in every rotation and led wire-to-wire, took control of the meet early with impressive efforts on vault, parallel bars and high bar.
Handled our business and we've got more left for Saturday. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/i24cxIAqjx
— Stanford Gymnastics (@StanfordMGym) April 20, 2018
The Cardinal's score of 407.390 was its fourth-best of the season and highest since winning its own International Collegiate Challenge back on March 3 at Burnham Pavilion with a 410.700.
Minnesota (404.758) and Nebraska (402.690) also qualified for Saturday's final. Michigan (400.590) was the first team under the cutline in fourth, followed by Navy (390.921) and Air Force (385.688).
Stanford is chasing its sixth NCAA title in school history and first since 2011. The Cardinal has been a model of consistency in the postseason, placing among the top-five at NCAA Championships every year dating back to 2006.
Ryan Sheppard's 80.865 total was good enough to claim the all-around title while Blake Sun also captured event honors with a 14.200 on parallel bars.
We were ready today. And we'll be ready tomorrow. #GoStanford
A post shared by Stanford Men's Gymnastics (@stanfordmensgymnastics) on Apr 20, 2018 at 3:04pm PDT
Bailey Perez gave Stanford a spark on vault, chalking up a 14.466. In the second rotation, Sun – who owns Stanford's top five scores on parallel bars this season – recorded a 14.200.
Robert Neff, the 2017 NCAA high bar champion, led Stanford in the event with a 13.900 at the midway point.
Neff's 14.033 was tied for third on the floor, representing the Cardinal's fourth event.
Sun placed third to lead Stanford in the pommel horse at 13.500.
Meanwhile, Sheppard and Thomas Lee both earned a 13.700 in the rings to close out the meet.
Saturday's NCAA final is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT. The Cardinal will be up against three-time defending champion Oklahoma, which has won every meet in which they have competed since placing second at the 2014 NCAA finals. During that span, the Sooners have racked up 87 victories, the most consecutive wins in program history, representing the longest current streak among all NCAA Division I sports.