No. 3 Stanford men’s gymnastics brought home a win on Saturday, beating out No. 7 Cal and No. 20 Southern California United at the Cal Benefit Cup, while the No. 22 women’s team topped No. 15 Georgia in a close matchup on Monday.
The Stanford men’s team (3-0, 2-0 MPSF) easily took its victory, earning a team score of 438.050, clearly besting Cal’s 426.950 and SC United’s 365.900. Stanford performed brilliantly on nearly all events, taking home titles in five of the six apparatuses.
The night also held a number of individual breakthroughs and career records for the Cardinal.
Juniors Gabe Flores and Taylor Seaton both earned career-bests in floor, helping the team produce an impressive 75.200 total on the event. Sophomore Drew Burton also achieved individual records, marking a 13.750 and 14.400 on the pommel horse and the high bar, respectively. Junior Akash Modi tied his career-best on the high bar with a 15.100 and freshman Josiah Eng also earned a career-best on rings with a 15.250.
Senior Dennis Zaremski earned the highest rings score of the meet with a 15.850 and also took home an individual win on the parallel bars with a 15.050. Seaton snagged another individual title for the Cardinal on the vault with a score of 15.150.
The Stanford men’s team will take on Cal and Ohio State on Sun, Jan. 24 in Berkeley. The Cardinal have already bested Cal twice in their first two competitions and will look to do so again.
The Stanford women’s gymnastics team (4-1, 0-1 Pac-12) had to fight for its win on Monday, besting Georgia 195.875-195.750. The competition was neck-and-neck until the final routine, which decided Stanford’s victory.
Stanford trailed slightly behind the Bulldogs in the first two rotations, but pulled slightly ahead after the third apparatus when five Stanford gymnasts scored a 9.700 or better on floor, while four of the six Georgia gymnasts missed their routines on the beam.
The Cardinal finished the meet on the beam while a 10,224-person audience watched as the competition hung by a thread. The first five Stanford gymnasts all scored higher than 9.725, with fifth-year senior Ivana Hong marking a 9.900. The meet came down to Stanford’s final gymnast, senior Melissa Chuang, competing on the beam for only the second time in her career. The senior marked a 9.900, securing the victory for the Cardinal.
Sophomore Elizabeth Price and senior Taylor Rice also greatly contributed to Stanford’s victory, winning first and second place, respectively, in the all-around.
The team will return to The Farm on Sunday, Jan. 24 for its home opener against No. 11 Cal and unranked San Jose State.
This event will be the second time these three teams will meet, as they met earlier this season on Jan. 10 at the NorCal Classic. Stanford took second place in the Classic, with a 194.800 score total, losing to Cal’s 195.575. San Jose State came in fourth with a 191.800-point total.
This year, Cal poses a viable threat to the Cardinal with a strong lineup and a good start to its season in hand. Junior Jessica Howe, a star during her freshman year, is back from a wrist injury that prevented extensive performance in the 2015 season. Howe will be competing on bars, beam and floor for the Golden Bears. Reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Toni-Ann Williams will be another strong competitor for Cal.
The meet will begin at 2 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion.
Contact Laura Sussman at laura111 ‘at’ stanford.edu.