STANFORD, Calif. – Entering the season as the No. 2 team in the nation for the third consecutive year, Stanford will travel to California on Saturday for the annual Cal Benefit Cup that will serve as the opener to the 2019 campaign.
Stanford, which has eyes set on a sixth National Championship, has finished in the top-five at the NCAA Championships in every year since 2006.
We will open the season #?in the nation! #GoStanford
— Stanford Gymnastics (@StanfordMGym) December 6, 2018
??: https://t.co/oOViciWfLM pic.twitter.com/EAB4jCnYzY
The Cardinal finished fourth at the NCAA Championships last year, and boasts a well-balanced squad of veteran returners and talented newcomers. Among the returners are All-Americans Grant Breckenridge and Blake Sun. Breckenridge is primed to carry the torch in high bar after finishing as the national runner-up in the event last year behind two-time NCAA Champion and former Cardinal Robert Neff.
Stanford will also benefit from the return of Josiah Eng. A top ringman in the nation, Eng missed all of 2018 due to injury, but is expected to be a force for the Cardinal in his third official year of competition.
A post shared by Josiah Eng (@josiah_eng) on Dec 1, 2018 at 4:52pm PST
Joining the core group of returners is one of the best incoming classes in the nation, highlighted by Ian Gunther, Brody Malone and Curran Phillips. Gunther was the 2018 Junior Olympic National Champion on pommel horse and parallel bars, while Malone is considered one of the top all-around gymnasts in his class. Phillips, a 2018 Junior National Team member, is a six-time JE National qualifier, three-time USA Championships qualifier and 2018 National Champion on parallel bars.
Saturday's Cal Benefit Cup, scheduled for a 7 p.m. start from RSF Gymnasium, will open another challenging slate for the Cardinal. Following Saturday's clash, Stanford will return home to host the Stanford Open on January 19 at 7 p.m. from Burnham Pavilion. That event is the first of four scheduled home meets for Stanford this year.
Other schedule notables: season opener Jan. 12, Illinois/Minnesota dual in March, MPSF Championships at Oklahoma. https://t.co/vXbTDOjlup #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/uReNbU1C6i
— Stanford Gymnastics (@StanfordMGym) October 12, 2018
This year's MPSF Championships will be hosted by the University of Oklahoma – four-time defending National Champions – on April 6, while the National Championships are set for April 19-20 at the State Farm Center in Illinois. Stanford will get a glimpse of the National Championship venue in March, facing Minnesota and Illinois on March 2. Those two squads were second and third, respectively, at the 2018 National Championships.