BERKELEY – The Big Meet is always a big opportunity for California, ranked eighth in the CGA Preseason Coaches Poll, to extend its all-time lead against Bay Area rival and currently second-ranked Stanford. Unfortunately, the Golden Bears fell short of that goal Sunday dropping 418.100-403.150 in the 2017 season opener at Haas Pavilion.
 
The Bears opened with a strong showing on floor notching a 70.150 led by sophomore Aaron Mah who posted a 14.350 just ahead of senior Nico Del Junco 14.250. Mah's score was third overall, with Del Junco following in fourth. The 14-point plus performances continued with redshirt junior Michael Rauchwerger recording a 14.100 and Yordan Aleksandrov notching a 14.000. Nathaniel Ramil and Mitchell Awisus completed scoring with 13.450 and 13.200, respectively.
 
The Bears dropped just behind the Cardinal's 70.250 on floor, but would not be able to recover the points after tough performances on the other five apparatuses.
 
The toughest test came on the pommel horse, the second rotation, where the Bears recorded their lowest team score of the day with a 64.200. Mah again notched Cal's top score on the apparatus with a 13.450, but was well behind the event leader Stanford's Akash Modi (15.050), the reigning MPSF Gymnast of the Year. Adam Young placed third overall in pommel with a 13.200.
 
On still rings, the Bears had sound performances, with co-captain Capri Sano tying in fourth overall to lead Cal with a 13.400. Gagik Gharibyan finished seventh overall with a 13.250 followed by Aleksandrov who posted a 13.200. In his collegiate debut, freshman Anton Vorona tallied a 12.950 ahead of teammates Mah (12.650), Harrison Plate (12.600) and Diliberto (11.800). The team finished with a 65.400 total.
 
Vault proved to be the strongest event for Cal with the team scoring a 70.200, led by Aleksandrov, Mah and Rauchwerger who each posted 14.250 enough for fourth overall. Ramil also earned an impressive 14.100, followed by freshman Kyte Crigger who totaled a 13.350 in his collegiate debut just ahead of a Del Junco's 13.150.  
 
Cal finished rotation five with a 66.300 on parallel bars and had some difficulty recovering from a few slips during routines and on landings. Diliberto was the top-finisher for Cal with a 14.050, third overall, while Aleksandrov's 13.750 performance was fifth.
 
The Bears finished the meet on the high bar with a 66.900 led by Aleksandrov, who anchored the final rotation, and Mah both scoring 13.700.
 
Mah and Aleksandrov competed in the all-around competition as well, where Aleksandrov totaled 81.200 to finish third and Mah an 80.950 to finish fourth, behind Modi (87.150) and Grant Breckenridge (81.450).
 
Next up for the Bears is the Stanford Open on Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.
 
For more information on Cal men's gymnastics follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @CalMensGym and like the Cal Men's Gym page on Facebook.