Oct. 22, 2007

The Stanford men's gymnastics team has been selected as the top team in the country in the 2008 pre-season rankings, as announced by Richard Aronson of the College Gymnastics Association.

The Cardinal finished third last year at the NCAA Team Championship, while Penn State and Oklahoma took the top two spots. David Sender and Alex Schorsch were crowned individual national champions on the vault and still rings, respectively, while Chris Harper, Dylan Carney and Peter Derman also earned All-American honors. Stanford returns 12 of the 16 athletes from last year's squad.

Current Stanford gymnasts David Sender and Sho Nakamori, along with former Cardinal David Durante will be competing at the Beijing Invitational in Beijing, China as members of the USA National Team.

The competition is an Olympic Test Event, made up of 12 teams from countries that have qualified for the 2008 Olympics. The event will take place on November 23.

Complete 2008 Pre-Season Rankings

1. Stanford (8)
2. Penn State (4)
3. Oklahoma (2)
4. Ohio State (1)
5. California
6. Michigan
7. Minnesota
8. Illinois
9. Iowa
10. Nebraska
11. Temple
12. Army
13. Ill-Chicago
14. William & Mary
15. Navy