March 19, 2004

Complete Results

STANFORD, Calif. - The first night of the MPSF men's gymnastics ended up being a Bay Area sweep, as No. 3 California edged No. 2 Oklahoma 220.225-219.600 to capture the team championship, while Stanford senior Dan Gill took home the individual all-around title with a score of 54.475. The Sooners, who last lost on March 9, 2002 to the Cardinal in Burnham Pavilion, had a 52-meet winning streak snapped by the Bears. The Cardinal took home third place with a score of 214.675, while No. 8 Nebraska finished fourth with a score of 211.525 and No. 16 Air Force placed fifth with a team score of 204.900.

"Daniel is a contender, he's one of the top guys in the all-around in the country," said Stanford Head Coach Thom Glielmi.

The Cardinal began the night on floor where they tallied the second best score of the night in that event with a 36.625. Dan Gill led the Cardinal with a 9.500, which was good enough for the fourth highest score of the evening, while teammate Sean Doolan registered a 9.350 to tie for fifth place.

Stanford moved to the pommel horse in the second rotation where they registered a team score of 34.250. Gill again paced the Cardinal, scoring a 8.700, while sophomore Nathan Downs earned an 8.600, and freshman Alex Schorsch recorded an 8.550.

The Cardinal were in third place as they moved to rings in the third rotation. The Cardinal received a strong performance from freshman Peter Derman who scored a 9.700, which tied for the second best score on the evening. Also turning in solid performances for Stanford was Schorsch, who tied for sixth with a 9.375, and Gill with an 8.800.

In the fourth rotation, the Cardinal moved to the vault, where they put up another solid team score with a 36.575. Gill earned the top score of the night, leading the Cardinal with a 9.525, while Doolan earned a 9.250 to finish sixth in the event.

In the last rotation, the Cardinal moved to the high bar where they registered a 36.800 to earn the second highest score of the night. The Cardinal received outstanding performances from Gill and Downs, who took first and second in the event with a 9.750 and a 9.700, respectively.

"It was obvious to me that our performance tonight was lacking because we are coming off of finals week. Some of the guys were only able to get one or two practices in. But Daniel and Nat Downs came up with clutch performances on the high bar for us."

Tomorrow night, the top eight competitors in each of the six events will compete for individual event titles. Competition will begin at 7:00 pm (PT) at Burnham Pavilion.