March 22, 2013

STANFORD, Calif. - The Stanford men's gymnastics team will take a brief midseason break from collegiate competition as it heads to Norway to take on the Norwegian and Italian senior national teams on Saturday, March 23, at 8 a.m. (PT).

The trip will occur during the gymnasts' spring break and give the team a chance to compete against elite competition before it returns stateside for postseason action.

Stanford finished its regular season with a 9-1 record and is ranked fourth in the nation. The Cardinal finished first in its most recent meet against No. 14 Army and Springfield, posting a season-best team score of 438.600.

The Italian national team competed in the preliminary round at the 2012 London Olympics. The team features 2012 Olympians Matteo Morandi who won bronze on rings, Alberto Busnari who finished fourth on pommel horse, and all-arounders Enrico Pozzo and Paolo Ottavi who finished 18th and 22nd.

Live updates will be provided via the Cardinal's Twitter page @SUMensGymnastic. The team will also be blogging throughout the trip and posts can be found via gostanford.com.