Feb. 21, 2007

BERKELEY -

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WHAT'S AHEAD:
The eighth-ranked California men's gymnastics team will compete in the Pacific Coast Classic this Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Oakland Convention Center at 7 p.m. The Golden Bears (2-3) are coming off a tough loss to Stanford in the Big Flip last Friday, and look to have a stronger showing this weekend. Cal will be competing against numerous high-ranked opponents, as six of the 10 teams competing are currently ranked in the top 10. Along with the Bears, the other five are: Michigan (1), Oklahoma (3), Stanford (5), Illinois (6) and Minnesota (7). Following the Pacific Coast Classic, Cal will go back on the road to Los Angeles, where it will compete in the Pete Vidmar Invitational on Thursday, March 1.

LAST YEAR'S PACIFIC COAST CLASSIC:
In the 2006 edition of the Pacific Coast Classic, Cal placed third (212.650) behind then-No. 1 Oklahoma (217.300) and then-No. 3 Stanford (216.075). On floor exercise, all six Cal competitors tallied above an 8.500. Kyle Litow and Aaron Moy both posted an 8.800. Tim McNeill took first on pommel horse after recording a team-high score of 9.300 and setting a new season best. On still rings, three Bears recorded above a 9.000: Kyle Brady (9.100), McNeill (9.250) and Tyler Block (9.400). McNeill once again tallied above a 9.000 for the Bears on vault, recording a 9.150, tying him for third. Also on vault, Moy posted an 8.900, while Brady scored an 8.600. On parallel bars, Cal recorded a season-high team score of 35.750. McNeill posted a team-high 9.300, good enough for second. Colin Christ finished with an 8.900 and Block tallied an 8.800. On high bar, three Bears scored above a 9.000: Christ (9.200), Kyson Bunthuwong (9.200) and Block (9.100).

BEARS FALL TO STANFORD FOR THIRD TIME:
Cal was only able to win one event in the Big Flip against No. 6 Stanford last Friday at Burnham Pavilion. The Bears fell to the Cardinal, 214.450 - 210.550. The lone event the Golden Bears won were the parallel bars, 36.100 - 35.600. Tim McNeill was the top competitor for the Bears, scoring a 9.700 which tied his career-best score for parallel bars. It was also the highest score for any event in the meet. McNeill also posted high scores on still rings (9.500) and pommel horse (9.450). His 9.500 on still rings tied his career-best mark for the event. Besides McNeill, only two other Cal gymnasts were able to post scores over nine. Juniors Kyle Brady and Tyler Block posted scores over nine on still rings. Brady notched a 9.250 and Block a 9.400. Despite three Bears scoring over nine in the event, Stanford won still rings by a narrow margin of 37.300 - 37.050.

DEL CASTILLO'S GETTING IT DONE:
Freshman Bryan Del Castillo came into this season as a highly-anticipated recruit. The gymnast that head coach Barry Weiner considers one of his "pocket aces" was last year's junior national champion and a member of the U.S. National team from 2001-06. Through the first three team competitions, the freshman already holds Cal's top scores for floor exercise and vault. In the Stanford Open, Del Castillo recorded a 9.400 on floor exercise. Last weekend, he notched an 8.800 on vault in the Big Flip. Althought not a team-high score, Del Castillo also tallied an impressive 8.850 on pommel horse in the Big Flip.

MCNEILL SELECTED FOR NATIONAL TEAM:
Junior Tim McNeill was selected to the U.S. Senior National team after his performance in the Winter Cup last Saturday night at the Las Vegas Sports Center. McNeill tied for third among gymnasts competing to make the team with a final total of 38 points, just one behind the second-place finisher. 31 of his points came from parallel bars (21) and still rings (10). The other seven came on pommel horse. Scores from the qualifying meet and the final meet were combined for the total. McNeill's best total score was on parallel bars (30.950), good enough for second, behind the Winter Cup's all-around winner, Sean Townsend. McNeill finished fourth on still rings with a score of 29.950 and sixth on pommel horse with a final two-day total of 28.750.

MCNEILL NCAA CHAMP:
Last year's top performer, Tim 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.

NCAA TRADITION:
California has a rich history in the NCAA Championships. The Bears have had 173 individual top 10 finishers since 1948, including 24 national champions. Cal has finished in the top five at NCAAs 16 times since 1959, including four times this decade. The Bears boast four national championships - 1968, '75, '97 and '98.

CAL TO HOST 2007 MPSF CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The 2007 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships for men's gymnastics will be hosted by California on Saturday, March 31 at Haas Pavilion. The MPSF meet will feature five teams - Air Force, California, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Stanford. At last year's national meet, three of the top five teams came from the MPSF. Oklahoma won the NCAA title, Stanford finished third and Cal was fifth.