Stanford, Calif. - The defending national champion men's gymnastics team has been selected as the pres-season coaches poll. The Cardinal received eight first place votes, while California received the next most with four.

Stanford is coming off the 2009 season where it won the program's fourth national title, but first since 1995. Head coach Thom Glielmi was named the national coach of the year and the Cardinal earned a total of 11 All-America awards at the individual event finals.

2010 is expected to be another banner year for Stanford men's gymnastics, judging by the pre-season ranking. The team returns four juniors, Alex Buscaglia, Tim Gentry, Ryan Lieberman and Kyle Oi, who accounted for seven of the 11 All-America honors from a season ago.

The Cardinal open their season with the Cardinal vs. White Intrasquad on January 8, at 7 pm, from Burnham Pavilion. They will take on the second ranked Cal Bears on January 15, at 7:30 pm, in Berkeley.