Jan. 18, 2007

BERKELEY -

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WHAT'S AHEAD: The No. 4 California men's gymnastics team opens its 2007 season at home Friday, Jan. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at Haas Pavilion, against No. 2 Stanford.

A LOOK AT THE 2007 BEARS: The 2007 Golden Bears bring experience and talent to the lineup this season. Cal finished the 2006 season with a 16-15 overall record, while placing third in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships and fifth in the NCAA Championships.

MCNEILL NCAA CHAMP: The top performer for the Bears in 2006 was junior Tim McNeill. McNeill won the NCAA Championship on pommel horse and also became a two-time All-American last year. He went into the NCAA Championships with a lot of momentum as he captured the all-around title in the MPSF Championships with a combined score of 55.325. In the conference meet, McNeill posted scores above 9.000 in five of the six events. He took two individual titles on pommel horse (9.325) and parallel bars (9.700). His score on parallel bars was not only a career-high, but it was also the highest score for any event in the MPSF Championships. Unfortunately for Cal, McNeill will miss the first half of the season after having knee surgery. He plans to return at the end of February, but the Bears still seek much success despite not having the national champion out there with them.

THE NUCLEUS: Cal head coach Barry Weiner expects big numbers and solid competition from what he considers the five-person nucleus on the team, juniors Tim McNeill, Colin Christ, Mark Freeman, Tyler Block and Aaron Moy. In addition to McNeill's success last year, Christ, a two-time All-American on the high bar, set a new career best on the high bar in the NCAA Championships (9.600) and posted a 9.550 in the NCAA Qualifier. Freeman, who was injured for half of last season, will be a key to the team reaching its full potential. Two of his season-high performances came in the Stanford Open, in which he earned a 8.900 on still rings and scored 8.650 on the vault. Block, an NCAA freshman All-American on the still rings, set a new career best on still rings last season against Penn State with a score of 9.725. Moy reached a season-high performance of 9.200 on floor exercise in the NCAA Qualifier. He followed that performance in the NCAA Championships with a score of 9.175. His overall season best score came against Stanford on vault (9.300).

HEAD COACH Barry Weiner: Weiner, who is entering his 16th year at the helm for Golden Bear gymnastics, is largely credited with developing the University of California men's gymnastics program and currently boasts an impressive 223-67-1 (.769) record. Weiner led the Golden Bears to national championships in 1997 and 1998, a total of seven Top 5 national finishes and nine NCAA individual champions in his fifteen seasons at Cal. Weiner was named National Coach of the Year in 1997 after leading the Bears to a perfect 17-0 regular season and the team's first NCAA team title since 1975. Cal then swept through the entire '98 season without a loss en route to its second-consecutive team championship. Following that season, Weiner was named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year for the third time (he won the award for the fourth time in 2004) and National Coach of the Year for the second straight campaign.

SECOND YEAR ASSISTANT COACH Aaron Floyd: Aaron Floyd returns to the Golden Bear coaching staff after spending four seasons, 1999-2003, as a member of the Cal gymnastics team. Upon graduating from Cal with a degree in applied mathematics, Floyd began coaching with Golden Bear Gymnastics Club. In his two years there, he coached two Junior National Team members and was named Northern California Coach of the Year in 2005.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: Stanford returns 12 letterwinners from last year and welcome four newcomers. Stanford finished the 2006 season with a 26-6 overall record and a second-place MPSF finish. Head coach Thom Glielmi is in his fifth year at Stanford and currently boasts a 52-35 record.

CAL V. STANFORD SERIES HISTORY: The Bears hold a commanding all-time series record of 118-44-2 over the Cardinal. Stanford defeated Cal twice in 2006.