Jan. 23, 2008

STANFORD, Calif - The No. 3 Men's Gymnastics squad will host their first home meet, the Stanford Open, this Saturday at 7 p.m. at Burnham Pavilion. The Cardinal will match up against No. 14 Nebraska as well as face the No. 4 California Golden Bears for the second weekend in a row.

After opening the season with a decisive win over six Midwestern schools at the Windy City Invitational, the Cardinal returned to the Bay Area and was upset in Berkeley by then No. 5 California. Stanford was without the services of top performers David Sender (ranked No. 2 all-around) and Sho Nakamori for the meet against the Golden Bears, due to National Team training obligations, but in their absence the freshman class stepped up to the challenge.

Freshman Alex Buscaglia scored two outright victories for the Cardinal in vault and floor exercise and tied for first place in high bar. Freshman Ryan Lieberman added a first place finish on the parallel bars and freshman Tim Gentry tied for first with Cal's Tyler Block in still rings. Despite five first place finishes in six events, the Cardinal was unable to hold off the Golden Bears and lost by the narrow margin of .500 points.

Nebraska, like Stanford, comes into this weekend's meet with two competitions already under its belt. The Cornhuskers opened their 2008 season by earning a third-place finish with a score of 327.65 at the Rocky Mountain Open. They then went on to face Oklahoma and Air Force at home and took second place with a score of 341.40.

About the Stanford Open
The Stanford Open, in its sixteenth consecutive year, is a combined meet featuring competitors from all ages ranging from Level 5, Level 10, Elite, and NCAA gymnasts. The meet is produced by the JDR Gymnastics and San Mateo Gymnastics Clubs in conjunction with Stanford University. This year's competition will feature 50 different clubs and over 700 competitors.

The Stanford Open will begin on Friday, January 25 at 4 p.m. and conclude on Sunday, January 27 in the evening. The NCAA portion will take place in Session #5, with warm-up beginning at 5 p.m. and competition beginning at 7 p.m. Admission to this event will be $15 for adults, $10 for children ages 4-12, and $5 for students with an ID. For more detailed information, please visit http://www.stanfordopen.com