Feb. 10, 2005

Stanford, Calif. - Stanford, ranked No. 8 in the nation, will head to Berkeley for the Nakamori Invitational on Saturday night to face off against the top-ranked team in the country, Ohio State, and the seventh-ranked team, Cal. The Cardinal and the Golden Bears have already met twice this season, with Stanford winning at Berkeley to start the season and Cal winning the second match-up at the Cardinal Open.

Stanford freshmen Sho Nakamori and David Sender have both been honored for their stand-out performances this season, as both were named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week. Nakamori earned the first conference recognition after helping the Cardinal upset Cal in the season opener on Jan. 16. Nakamori won three events in Berkeley, scoring a 9.4 on floor, a 9.5 on p-bars and a 9.65 on high bar. The next week, Sender garnered recognition after capturing the all-around title at the Cardinal Open, scoring a 53.75. Sender also tied for first on rings with a career-best 9.75 and won the vault with a 9.45.

Last week, Sender earned a spot on the U.S. National Team after winning the individual event title on vault with a 9.6 -- the highest score on any apparatus at the Winter Cup.

Stanford heads into this weekend's competition with an average team score of 214.9. Cal is just ahead of the Cardinal with a 214.912 average, while the Buckeyes lead the nation with a 221.562 average. Stanford has a strong core of performers on still rings, with three gymnasts ranked in the top-six (Sender at No. 2, Alex Schorsch at No. 5 and Peter Derman and No. 6), while Ohio State's Randy Monahan currently leads the nation with a 9.762 average.