NORMAN, Okla. - Fourth-ranked Stanford went on the road to McCasland Field House and battled No. 1 Oklahoma to a 409.300-409.300 tie on Saturday.
Stanford opened the meet on pommel horse where junior Ian Gunther hit for a season-best 13.850 to earn the event title. Sophomore J.R. Chou finished in second with a career-best 13.550 as the Cardinal managed a team score of 66.050.
Moving to floor in rotation two, Stanford managed a 68.750 team score, guided by Riley Loos' season-best 14.350 to take second behind OU's Gage Dyer. Blake Wilson took fourth overall for the Cardinal with a score of 14.200.
Two of the top vault teams in the nation proved their worth on Saturday, with the teams each scoring a 72.800. Freshman Brandon Nguyen, who entered the week ranked third in the nation on vault, stuck a career-best 14.950 to win the event crown. Zach Martin (career-best 14.750) and Curran Phillips (14.600) followed in third and fourth, respectively.
Loos captured an event title in rotation four, turning in a 14.250 on still rings to help guide the Cardinal to a 68.300 as a team. Gunther followed in second at 13.900.
Junior Brody Malone, the two-time defending MPSF Gymnast of the Year, got better when the pressure picked up in the final two rotations – claiming event titles on high bar and parallel bars.
Competing for the first time on high bar this season, Malone hit for a 14.400 to win the event by nearly a full point.
Needing every tenth to make up ground in the final rotation, Malone and senior captain Blake Sun helped the Cardinal answer the call on parallel bars. Sun, the nation's top parallel bars specialist, turned in a 14.450 before Malone anchored the lineup with a season-high 14.500 to ensure the tie and capture the event title. Stanford managed a 69.700 team score on parallel bars.
The Cardinal will now prepare to host California on March 27 at 2 p.m. PT inside Burnham Pavilion.
