April 18, 2008

Quotes |  Photo Gallery 

STANFORD, Calif. - The No. 4 California men's gymnastics team finished fifth at the NCAA Championships on Friday evening at Stanford's Maples Pavilion. Despite finishing the meet on a high note with four Golden Bears finishing in the top 10, Cal got off to a rough start and could not recover. Three-time national champion Tim McNeill took first place on parallel bars and pommel horse and finished fifth in the all-around competition. Junior Kyson Bunthuwong finished eighth on all-around and senior Colin Christ tied for third on parallel bars.

McNeill (pommel horse, parallel bars), Tyler Block (rings), Kyle Brady (parallel bars), Kyson Bunthuwong (parallel bars) and Colin Christ (parallel bars) all qualified for the individual championships, which will be held Saturday at Maples. For more information, go to Stanford's NCAA Championships page at http://gostanford.cstv.com/sports/m-gym/08-ncaa-tournament-central.html#.

Eric Haeussler was first up for the Golden Bears on high bar and earned a 14.150. Kyle Bunthuwong stuck his landing to grab a 14.500. Cal traveled to floor next, where Kyson Bunthuwong paced the Bears with a 15.050, which was just shy of his personal best. Eric Haeussler was nipping his heels, scoring a 15.000.

The Bears took a breather with a bye on the next rotation before taking on pommel horse. Tim McNeill, the defending national champion on pommel horse, earned a crowd-pleasing 15.400, which gave him first place overall. Next on rings, Kyson Bunthuwong earned a 15.000, which was .050 points shy of his personal best established in Thursday's team qualifier. Kyle Brady earned a 15.350, and Evan Roth scored a 14.650. Tyler Block notched a team-high 15.450, which was good for a tie for ninth and qualified him for Saturday's event finals.

For the second night, Evan Roth led the Bears on vault, grabbing a 15.750. Kyson Bunthuwong was close behind with a 15.600.

Cal, the No. 1 parallel bars team in the nation, ended the competition on parallel bars. Tim McNeill won p-bars with a standout performance to close the event, notching a 15.550. Christ earned a 15.150 and Kyson Bunthuwong earned 15.100, which were good for a tie for third and fifth place overall, respectively. Kyle Brady's score was good for a tie for ninth and automatic advancement into Saturday's event finals.

California Results
Horizontal Bar
Eric Haeussler 14.150
Kyle Bunthuwong 14.500
Tyler Block 14.550
Colin Christ 13.00
Kyson Bunthuwong 14.150
Tim McNeill 13.950
Team 57.350

Floor Exercises
Kyle Bunthuwong 14.900
Kyle Litow 14.800
Eric Haeussler 15.000
Aaron Moy 14.550
Kyson Bunthuwong 15.050
Tim McNeill 14.400
Team 59.750 (Running Score 117.100)

Pommel Horse
Kyle Bunthuwong 13.200
Daniel Geri 13.050
Justin Franklin 13.050
Colin Christ 13.650
Kyson Bunthuwong 11.750
Tim McNeill 15.400
Team 55.300 (Running Score 172.400)

Still Rings
Colin Christ 14.700
Kyson Bunthuwong 15.000
Kyle Brady 15.350
Evan Roth 14.650
Tyler Block 15.450
Tim McNeill 14.350
Team 60.500 (Running Score 232.900)

Vault
Eric Haeussler 15.150
Kyle Bunthuwong 15.400
Aaron Moy 15.000
Evan Roth 15.750
Kyson Bunthuwong 15.600
Tim McNeill 14.750
Team Score 62.550 (Running Score 298.800)

Parallel Bars
Kyle Bunthuwong 14.650
Kyle Brady 14.900
Tyler Block 14.450
Colin Christ 15.100
Kyson Bunthuwong 15.100
Tim McNeill 15.550

Team 60.700 (Running Score 356.150)