March 2, 2008

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The top-ranked Stanford men's gymnastics team recorded yet another impressive team score on their way to defeating No. 5 Michigan in Ann Arbor today. The Cardinal posted a 361.300, their third highest score of the season, to close out the regular season road schedule. Stanford squeaked out the win, as the Wolverines finished a mere .150 behind Stanford, with 361.150.

Things started out well for Stanford in the first rotation, as the team captured the top four places in floor exercise and redshirt sophomore Greg Ter-Zakhariants was again dominant as he scored a 15.500 to take the event title. Senior Chris Harper was successful yet again on pommel horse, taking first with a score of 15.150.

Michigan kept the score close and the Cardinal on their toes in the second rotation on the vault and still rings. Freshman Tim Gentry took second in rings with a strong routine that earned him a 15.350. Vault was solid for the Cardinal as every gymnast hit their attempt and scored in the mid to high 15.000's.

The score remained neck-and-neck the entire meet, and it came down to the last rotation to determine the winner. The Cardinal first tackled the high bar, where senior Dylan Carney contributed a stellar performance to win the event with 15.400. Stanford found itself down .25 points to Michigan heading into the last event, parallel bars. Freshman Ryan Lieberman led the way and came up big with the first place finish (15.500), while the rest of the team provided strong supporting scores that gave the Cardinal the edge, 361.300 - 361.150.

Stanford will return home this week to face California in The Big Flip on March 8 in Maples Pavilion at 7:00 p.m.

Floor:
Tim Gentry 14.650
Eli Alcaraz 14.600
Dylan Carney 15.350 (2)
Alex Buscaglia 15.300 (3)
Josh Dixon 15.150 (t4)
Greg Ter-Zakhariants 15.500 (1)

Floor Score: 61.300

Pommel:
Josh Dixon 13.350
Greg Ter-Zakhariants 13.500
Ryan Lieberman 12.150
Kyle Oi 14.650
Bryant Hadden 14.700 (5)
Chris Harper 15.150 (1)

Pommel Score: 58.000

Rings
Alex Buscaglia 14.700
Nicholas Noone 14.700
Tim Gentry 15.350 (2)
Bryant Hadden 15.200 (4)
Ryan Lieberman 15.000 (t5)
Kyle Oi 13.700

Rings Score: 60.250

Vault
Eli Alcaraz 15.600
Dylan Carney 15.450
Alex Buscaglia 15.850 (t3)
Ryan Lieberman 15.600
Greg Ter-Zakhariants 15.700
Josh Dixon 15.850 (t3)

Vault Score: 63.000

P-Bars
Nicholas Noone 14.600 (t5)
Jason Shen 14.650 (4)
Chris Harper 14.600 (t5)
Josh Dixon 14.600 (t5)
Ryan Lieberman 15.500 (1)
Bryant Hadden 14.250

P-Bars Score: 59.350

High Bar
Tim Gentry 14.650 (t5)
Alex Buscaglia 14.650 (t5)
Josh Dixon 14.500
Dylan Carney 15.400 (1)
Bryant Hadden 13.950
Ryan Lieberman 14.700 (t3)

High Bar Score: 59.400

Final Score: Stanford 361.300, Michigan 361.150