Jan. 23, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Kyson Bunthuwong Named MPSF Player of the Week

BERKELEY - This Week in California Gymnastics
After upsetting then-ranked No. 1 Stanford at home Jan. 18, California heads to Stanford for the Stanford Open. The annual meet will feature No. 3 Stanford and No. 14 Nebraska. Last season, the Golden Bears finished in second place, losing to Stanford but defeating Nebraska. Additionally, selected top club teams and high school gymnasts will also be competing over the course of the weekend event, and the highest scoring gymnasts from the club teams will form an all-star team and will compete in the NCAA Session on Saturday.

Kyson Bunthuwong Named MPSF Player of the Week and Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week
Junior Kyson Bunthuwong won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's Player of the Week and Cal's Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week awards for the week of Jan. 22. Bunthuwong won the all-around with his score of 88.45 on Friday, Jan. 18, to help California to a win over rival and top-ranked Stanford, Cal's first meet victory over the Cardinal since 2005. This is the first time since 2006 that a Golden Bear has been honored by the MPSF as player of the week. Bunthuwong, an All-American, won the pommel horse (15.05), tied for first on high bar (14.90), placed fourth on vault (15.45) and took fifth on rings (14.25) and floor (13.85) at the meet. With Stanford and Cal tied going into the final two rotations, Bunthuwong's tie for first on high bar kept the Bears in contention for their eventual meet win.

Upset Central
Then-ranked No. 5 Cal defeated No. 1 Stanford at home Jan. 18, the Bears' first meet victory over the Cardinal since the 2005 season. The teams were tied going into the final two rotations and Cal's strong performance on the parallel bars gave them the win, 347.25-346.75. Junior Kyson Bunthuwong took first all-around at 88.45 and freshman Kyle Bunthuwong, in his collegiate debut, took second at 86.45. The Bears took first and second on pommel horse with Kyson Bunthuwong placing first (15.05) and Tim McNeill taking second (14.40). Cal put forth a stunning performance on parallel bars, taking places second through seventh. Stanford was without standouts senior David Sender and junior Sho Nakamori. Stanford won floor, vault and high bar.

A Look at the Golden Bears
With 12 experienced lettermen and five outstanding additions, the 2008 men's gymnastics team will rely on experience and depth on every event for success this season. In year pasts, the Bears have struggled with depth but according to Weiner, that is not the case this year. The 2008 squad has multiple athletes capable of giving meet-winning performances on any given day. Despite the incredible depth on every event, one of the season's biggest challenges will be keeping the team healthy during the long and rigorous season.

Moving On Up
The Golden Bears are currently ranked fourth in the nation after defeating top-ranked Stanford. Cal's parallel bars team is tops in the country with Tyler Block and Kyson Bunthuwong being ranked second and third, respectively. The pommel horse crew is second in the nation with Kyson Bunthuwong topping the individual rankings while Cal's rings and high bar teams are third. Cal was tabbed the No. 5 team in the country, according to the College Gymnastics Association's preseason poll.

Scouting the Cardinal
Stanford opened its season victoriously at the Windy City Invitational in Chicago but lost Friday to Cal, 347.25-346.75. Against the Bears, Alex Buscaglia and Greg Ter-Zakhariants took first and second on vault at 15.75 and 15.60, respectively. Bryant Hadden took third for Stanford on floor exercise (14.55) while Tim Gentry finished second on rings (14.90). Ryan Lieberman took first on parallel bars with a 15.15. Stars David Sender and Sho Nakamori did not compete against the Bears but will participate in the Stanford Open. The Cardinal returns 11 letterwinners from last season's team which took third place in the MPSF and third at the NCAA Championships.

Scouting the Huskers
No. 14 Nebraska began its season by taking third at the Rocky Mountain Open and recently took second in its first home meet behind Oklahoma but defeating Air Force. The Huskers won four of six events against the Sooners and Falcons and junior T.J. Schmidt won his second pommel horse title of the season (14.60) and also won parallel bars (14.90). Nebraska lost two but returns 11 lettermen from last year's team, which finished fourth in the MPSF and 10th in the nation at 3-9.

The McNeill Report
Senior and three-time NCAA Champion Tim McNeill will be updating a blog this season. In his entries, McNeill gives updates regarding the happenings of the men's gymnastics team as the Bears progress through the season. To read McNeill's blog, go to the men's gymnastics page on CalBears.com

Cal Inks Newcomer for 2009
Glen Ishina, one of the top recruits in the country, will be joining the California men's gymnastics team for the 2009 season after signing a National Letter of Intent. Ishina finished second at the 2007 Junior Olympic Nationals in the all-around competition and took fifth on floor exercise. At the 2007 U.S. Championships, he earned a position on the U.S. Junior national team after taking second in the all-around and finishing first on rings. Beginning Nov. 20, Ishina will be representing the United States at the Junior Pan American Games in Guatemala. Ishina, a senior at Foothill High School, trains at SCATS Gymnastics Huntington Beach and is coached by Grigor Chalikyan and Albert Avchian.

Where Cal Ranks:

Team: No. 4
Floor: No. 13	Pommel: No. 2		Rings: No. 3
Vault: No. 8	Parallel Bars: No. 1	High Bar: No. 3
Individual Rankings:
Kyson Bunthuwong: 	No. 3 all-around		No. 1 on pommel
			No. 3 on parallel bars	No. 3 on high bar
Tim McNeill:		No. 6 on pommel		No. 13 (t) on parallel bars
Daniel Geri:		No. 14 on pommel
Tyler Block:		No. 7 (t) on rings		No. 2 on parallel bars
			No. 7 (t) on high bar
Kyle Bunthuwong:	No. 4 all-around		No. 13 (t) on floor
No. 19 (t) on vault		No. 13 (t) on parallel bars
			No. 17 (t) on high bar
Colin Christ:		No. 8 (t) on parallel bars