CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - No. 3 Stanford secured its opportunity to compete for a sixth national title in seven years on Friday night, dominating wire-to-wire in Session II of the NCAA Qualifier to move on to the Super Six.
The Cardinal led the session with a season-best 327.992 team score, while Michigan (324.623) and Illinois (319.658) secured the remaining two automatic bids. Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Ohio State each advanced from the morning qualifying session.
The Cardinal got things started with an exceptional vault rotation, with each gymnast scoring above 13.900 to combine for a season-best 56.999 score. Asher Hong highlighted the first four routine with a 14.300, the second best vault of the night, while Jun Iwai and Cooper Kim each added 14.233 scores to share a spot on the podium.
Hong continued his strong start to the evening with another 14.300 on parallel bars, a season-best score to highlight the second rotation. Zach Green added a 13.966 as the Cardinal built its lead to 1.5 points after two rotations
Green and Kim kept the momentum going with a pair of 13.766 routines on high bar, tied for the third-best score of the night, to help extend the Stanford advantage at the halfway point. On floor exercise, Kim impressed with a second-place 13.933 routine, while Iwai (13.900), and Nick Kuebler (13.700) finished third and sixth in the event, respectively.
Stanford held steady on pommel horse, led by a 13.600 effort from Kiran Mandava, then closed out the meet with three consecutive sticks on still rings from Arun Chhetri (13.333), Kuebler (13.866), and Hong (14.100) to cap off its best meet of the season.
The season comes to a close on the national stage tomorrow night, as the Cardinal will compete against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Michigan, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 7 Illinois at 4 p.m. PT on ESPN2.