April 9, 2007
WHAT'S ON TAP
No. 4 men's gymnastics will head to State College, PA for the 2007 National Collegiate Championships on Thursday-Saturday, April 12-14 at Penn State The Cardinal will be in search of their fourth national championship to go along with their titles in 1992, '93, and '95. Competition at the championships begins on Thursday, April 12 with two qualifying sessions, scheduled for 1:00 and 7:00 p.m. ET. The Cardinal will compete in Session I, along with Army, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio State. Session II will include Penn State, California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Temple.
The top three teams from each qualifier will then advance to contend for the national championship at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday, April 13, with the individual all-around champion also being crowned that evening. The following evening, Saturday, April 14, the individual event finals will be held at 7:00 p.m. ET, with six national titles and All-American honors at stake.
SO FAR THIS SEASON
2006-07 * On January 20 Stanford opened their season with a 205.10 to 196.00 victory over California last night in Haas Pavilion. The Cardinal finished on top in four of the six events and Sender captured the all around title with a 50.45. * On January 28 the team took home first place at the Stanford Open Saturday night in front of a sell out crowd at Burnham Pavilion. The Cardinal defeated collegiate teams from Cal, Nebraska and Washington, as well as defeating a pair of All Star teams made up of Friday night's top competitors. Stanford topped all schools with a team total of 209.65, followed by Cal with a score of 207.50, Nebraska with a 202.90 and Washington with an 85.15. * At the 2007 Winter Cup Challenge (February 8-10) Sender took second place in the all-around final with a combined two-day score of 176.950. Sophomore Bryant Hadden placed 11 for Stanford in the all-around with a total of 168.00, while Carney finished in 34 place with a two-day score of 87.90. * On February 16, Stanford defeated No. 9 Cal 214.45 - 210.55 in the annual "Big Flip Off" at Burnham Pavilion. Though the Cardinal was at a disadvantage, using only 11 gymnasts instead of the normal 12, they were able to earn victories in five of the six events contested, with individual gymnasts posting high scores on three events. * No. 5 Stanford men's gymnastics took second place at the Pacific Coast Classic in Oakland, CA (Feb. 22). The team posted an overall score of 216.650, while No. 3 Oklahoma finished first with a score of 218.450. No. 8 Cal rounded out the top three with a 214.750, while No. 1 Michigan came in fourth, posting a 214.400. Sender placed third in the All-Around as he totaled a score of 54.800. Sender placed first on the vault with a score of 9.40 and earned a second place finish on the parallel bars, recording a 9.55. *An undermanned Stanford team suffered their first dual meet loss against top ranked Michigan on March 2 at Burnham Pavilion. The Cardinal fell to Michigan by a final score of 212.35-208.1. National Team member and Stanford co-captain Sender was unable to compete in the meet due to family issues. * No. 5 Stanford bounced right back on March 4 as they defeated tenth ranked University of Nebraska by a score of 216.85-206.30 at the Devaney Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Cardinal had individual winners on five of the six events, while David Sender returned to capture the All-Around title with a score of 54.05. * In their final regular season meet, fifth ranked Stanford men's gymnastics (11-2) came from behind to defeat No. 2 Penn St. and No. 9 Iowa on Saturday night in Burnham Pavilion. The Cardinal rallied to finish with a final team score of 216.7, while Penn St. (214.8) came in second and Iowa (204.75) finished third. David Sender captured the all-around title for Stanford as he recorded a total score of 55.55. *Stanford earned a second place finish in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships held at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA (3/31/07). The Cardinal posted an overall team score of 216.10, while Oklahoma took the title with a team score of 217.95. California rounded out the top three as they recorded a total score of 215.00. David Sender finished third in the All-Around for Stanford with a score of 53.60.
CARDINAL IN THE TOP TEN
In the Pommel Horse, both Chris Harper and Bryant Hadden rank in the top ten. Harper sits in third place with his average score of 9.16, while Hadden is in ninth with a score of 8.75. Alex Schorsch has been solid all year on the Still Rings, which is why he ranks second with an average score of 6.40 (just .05 points behind the leader). David Sender is holding onto the No. 5 spot on the rings with his score of 9.57. Sender is the defending NCAA Vault Champion and heads into this year's event in third place with a score of 9.16. Defending NCAA High Bar Champion Dylan Carney is ranked first in the event this year with an average score of 9.78 (.380 points ahead of the second place competitor). Sender once again ranks in the top ten, holding onto the No. 4 spot in the high bar with a score of 9.14. It is no surprise that Sender is ranked as the top All-Around gymnast in the nation as he boasts an average overall score of 54.13.
TEAM RANKINGS
Floor Exercise - No. 7 (36.60)
Pommel Horse - No. 4 (34.57)
Still Rings - No. 3 (37.70)
Vault - No. 7 (34.94)
Parallel Bars - No. 6 (35.57)
High Bar - No. 2 (36.44)
Overall - No. 4 (216.00)
2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
Stanford Men's Gymnastics (26-6) finished third tonight in the NCAA Team Finals (4/7/06) with a score of 218.375, behind champion Oklahoma (221.400) and runner-up Illinois (220.975). Penn State finished fourth behind the Cardinal with 215.125, California was fifth with 215.000 and Iowa was sixth with a score of 211.800. The third-place finish is Stanford's highest team performance in nearly a decade. The Cardinal will advance six athletes to the Individual Event Finals in five events, with three Stanford gymnasts making the cut on the still rings. Sophomore Sho Nakamori, junior Alex Schorsch, junior Peter Derman, sophomore David Sender, junior Dylan Carney and senior Nate Downs will compete tomorrow night in at least one event each at the Individual Event Finals, beginning at 7:00 pm CT.
*Sophomore David Sender was crowned the national champion on the vault after posting a score of 9.562 on day three of the NCAA Championships (4/8/07). Junior Dylan Carney shared the high bar title with Illinois' Justin Spring. The Cardinal tallied five top-three finishes in the NCAA Individual Event Finals.
Click here for more information on the 2007 National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championships.