March 15, 2007

BERKELEY -

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WHAT'S AHEAD:
The eighth-ranked California men's gymnastics team heads to Pennsylvania, the site of the 2007 NCAA Championships, to face No. 2 Penn State Saturday, March 17, at 7 p.m. (ET) Cal (7-5) is coming off an upset-victory over No. 3 Ohio State, last Saturday at Haas Pavilion. The meet against the Nittany Lions will be the final tune up for the Golden Bears before they return to the Haas Pavilion for the MPSF Championships on Saturday, March 31.

SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS:
Penn State (15-2) placed second in a tri-meet last weekend at Stanford. The Nittany Lions beat Iowa but fell to Stanford. So far this season, they have collected victories over Army, Illinois, Ohio State and William & Mary. In January, Penn State recorded two first-place finishes in the Temple Invitational and the West Point Open. The Nittany Lions are led by Matt Cohen, currently ranked fifth in the nation for men's all-around and Tommy Ramos, a two-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week selection.

LAST YEAR VS PENN STATE:
When Cal and Penn State met in Berkeley in 2006, it was the Bears who came out on top with a 219.100 - 216.575 victory. Cal won four of the six events, as it tallied its highest team score of the season. The Bears set a new season-high team score of 36.650 on floor exercise. Cal also posted a new season-high team score on vault (36.950). On pommel horse, Tim McNeill posted a season high score of 9.550, earning him a first-place finish. On still rings, Tyler Block posted a new career-high score of 9.725, good enough for first. McNeill took third with a 9.500, while Kyle Brady chipped in with a 9.300 for the Bears. Kyson Bunthuwong tallied a 9.525 on parallel bars, recording a new career best. McNeill posted a 9.050, while Brady recorded an 8.975. Colin Christ won high bar with a score of 9.500, while Bunthuwong took second (9.450).

BEARS TAKE DOWN THIRD-RANKED OHIO STATE:
Although Cal only won two events in it's victory over Ohio State last Saturday, the Bears were able to hang close with the Buckeyes in the events that they won. Cal won high bar by the score of 36.650 - 31.650. The other event that the Bears took was still rings, 37.550 - 36.950. The other four events that Ohio State won were all by a close margin. It was the victory on high bar that set the Bears apart to earn the win. Tim McNeill posted two new career-high scores. He recorded career bests on pommel horse and still rings, both by the score of 9.650. The 9.650 scores were the highest scores for any Cal player in the meet. He also scored a season best of 9.000 on high bar. Sean Bryan tied his career best on still rings (8.900) and set a new career high on parallel bars (9.050). Colin Christ tied his career best on parallel bars with a 9.350. Christ also scored two season bests, an 8.750 on floor exercise and an 8.700 on pommel horse. Kyle Litow's 9.050 on floor exercise was a new career best for him as well. Sophomore Kyson Bunthuwong returned to action and scored a new career best on still rings (8.800) and a new season high on high bar (9.250).

BEARS IN THE RANKINGS:
In the men's national individual rankings, Tim McNeill is ranked in the top 10 for three events, two of which he is ranked first. McNeill, the reigning NCAA champion on pommel horse, is currently ranked first in that event with an average score of 9.517. He is also tied for first on parallel bars with an average score of 9.667. The third event that McNeill placed in the top 20 was still rings (7th, 9.567). Tyler Block is currently ranked 16th on still rings (9.433). Junior Colin Christ is 17th on parallel bars with an average of 9.200. Freshman Bryan Del Castillo is currently tied for 12th on floor exercise (9.417).

BLOCK'S BEEN A CONSISTENT CONTRIBUTOR:
Tyler Block has been posting high scores for Cal all season. His best event thus far has been still rings where Block has scored over a 9.000 in all but one meet. Also on still rings, Block has hit his season high of 9.450 twice (Pacific Coast Classic, Ohio State). In the Pacific Coast Classic, Block recorded a career-best score of 9.250 on high bar. On parallel bars, he has notched scores of 9.000 or higher three times this season.

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.