STANFORD, Calif. – After posting the best team score in the NCAA this season with a 411.250 at the Cal Benefit Cup last Saturday, Stanford will carry a No. 1 ranking into this week's competition.
Top team score in the nation (411.250) ?#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/pMj4vItiYq
— Stanford Gymnastics (@StanfordMGym) January 15, 2019
The Cardinal, which entered the season ranked second in the College Gymnastics Association Preseason Coaches Poll, edged four-time defending national champion Oklahoma for the top spot after the Sooners managed a 410.450 at the Rocky Mountain Open.
Senior Grant Breckenridge set the tone for the stellar team score, posting an 80.750 in the all-around to capture the event title and place second nationally. The native of Libertyville, Ill. also took first on the parallel bars, turning in a score of 14.650.
Including the pair from Breckenridge, Stanford captured seven event titles in the opener to 2019. Junior Connor Lewis took top honors on floor (career-best 14.700), while junior Joey Ringer captured the title on pommel horse (13.650). David Jessen rounded out the first-place finishes from the junior class, netting the high bar with a mark of 13.500. Sophomore Bryan Perla topped all comers on the vault (career-best 14.500), while freshman Ian Gunther took home the rings title (14.050) in his first collegiate competition.
Stanford enters this week ranked first in the floor exercise (70.850) and parallel bars (70.900), third in the vault (71.200) and high bar (65.800), fourth in the rings (68.100), and seventh in the pommel horse (64.400).
The Cardinal will return home for competition this week, hosting California and Northern California United in the Stanford Open on Saturday at 7 p.m. inside Burnham Pavilion. For full information on the Stanford Open, including to purchase tickets, please visit stanfordopen.com.