Jan. 11, 2010

BERKELEY - The No. 2 California men's gymnastics team is set to square off against defending national champion and top-ranked 1 Stanford on Friday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Haas Pavilion. The Golden Bears have hosted the Cardinal in the campaign kick off for the past five years, notching upsets against then-No. 1 Stanford in 2008 and 2009. This is the first of at least six meetings between Cal and Stanford in 2010, excluding NCAA Championships, with the Bears holding the all-time advantage, 122-59-2.

Bears Earn No. 2 Preseason Ranking
Cal is ranked second in the nation according to the Troester preseason coaches' poll. The Bears had four first-place votes for second place in the country. Despite losing four letterwinners, including NCAA individual champion Evan Roth, the Golden Bears welcome six newcomers and a solid core of 12 experienced returners. Tops on the list of lettermen are senior national team members Kyle Bunthuwong, who traveled with the U.S. delegation to the Japan Cup this summer, and Glen Ishino. Cal also brings back 2009 All-Americans Jim Kerry and Bryan del Castillo. Of the freshman, Swiss national team member Dennis Mannhart and U.S. junior team member Donathan Bailey could make an impact right away.

Stanford Season Openers of Yore
The then-No. 5 California men's gymnastics team defeated then-No.1 Stanford, 342.200-338.400, on Jan. 16, 2009 at Haas Pavilion, holding the lead throughout the meet. This was the second consecutive season in which the Golden Bears have upset a top-ranked Cardinal team in the season opener. Cal won floor, pommel horse, rings and parallel bars to take the meet. The Bears had three individual event victories -Glen Ishino won pommel horse (15.400), and Kyson Bunthuwong tied for first on rings (14.800) and won parallel bars (14.600).

Flashback: 2009 NCAA Championships
Cal's fourth-place finish at the 2009 NCAAs marked the 10th time in the past 12 years that the team has closed the year as one of the top-five teams in the country at the NCAA Championships. It was also the highest the Bears have finished since 2002, when they were third. The 13 top-10 individual finishes was the first time since 1959 that a Cal team has achieved this feat and only the second time in program history. In the two days of competition at the national championships, Cal set five team season highs and four program bests. Evan Roth took home the NCAA individual title on still rings for his first championship and the 29th individual title in program history. Seven Bears competed in the individual championships, combining for nine All-America honors - Glen Ishino and Bryan del Castillo on high bar; Ishino on pommel horse; Roth and Kyle Brady on rings; Roth on vault; and Brady, Ishino and Jim Kerry on parallel bars.

Cal Coaching Staff
The Bears are coached by Barry Weiner, who is in his 19th year at the helm of Cal and boasts a 255-97-1 record. He has had a total of 10 top-five national finishes, adding another spectacular season with a fourth-place finish in 2009. He has also coached 14 NCAA individual championships in his 18 seasons at Cal. The most recent individual championship was last season, when Evan Roth won the title on still rings. Weiner coached Tim McNeill to five individual national championships - three NCAA titles on pommel horse and two on parallel bars. Weiner is assisted by Aaron Floyd. During four seasons in his current role as assistant coach, Floyd has helped Weiner lead the Bears to four winning seasons - three top-five and one top-10 national finishes - as well as six individual NCAA championship titles.

Scouting Stanford
Last year, the Cardinal won its fourth national title in program history and the first since 1995. Head coach Thom Glielmi took home national coach of the year honors and Stanford earned a total of 11 All-America awards at the individual event finals. The squad, which is No. 1 in the preseason poll, returns four juniors, Alex Buscaglia, Tim Gentry, Ryan Lieberman and Kyle Oi, all of whom accounted for seven of the 11 All-America honors from a season ago. In addition to their success at Stanford, Buscaglia and Gentry are also members of the U.S. national team.