April 11, 2008
Complete NCAA Postseason Guide in PDF Format 
BERKELEY -
NCAA Tournament Schedule (all events at Maples Pavilion)
Thurs., April 17 at NCAA Tournament (Team and Individual Qualifying) Stanford, Calif. 7 p.m. Fri., April 18 at NCAA Tournament (Team and All-Around Finals) Stanford, Calif. 7 p.m. Sat., April 19 at NCAA Tournament (Event Finals) Stanford, Calif. 7 p.m.
This Week in California Gymnastics
Cal will make the short trip down to Stanford, Calif., for the NCAA Championships on Thursday-Saturday, April 17-19. Thursday, the Golden Bears will attempt to qualify for the team championships, which will be held Friday. Senior Tim McNeill, the defending national champion on pommel horse and parallel bars hopes to compete Saturday in the individual event finals. Cal was edged out of the team finals at last year's NCAAs but Tim McNeill became the second-ever Golden Bear to win two men's gymnastics national titles in the same year - winning his first national championship on the parallel bars and repeating on pommel horse.
Cal's History in the NCAA Championships
California has a rich history in the NCAA Championships. The Bears have had 178 individual top 10 finishers since 1948, including 26 individual 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 has 24 individual national champions, nine with Barry Weiner as the head coach. His most recent national champion was crowned last year when Tim McNeill took top honors on pommel horse and parallel bars. Since their back-to-back NCAA titles in `97 and `98, the Bears' best finish in the NCAA Championships was third, which they accomplished in 2001 and 2002. The best team score Cal has earned in the Weiner era is 233.825, a total the Bears earned in the `97 championship year. Since 1996, Cal has qualified for the NCAA Championships every year except one (1999). The lowest the Bears have placed in the national championships under Weiner was a seventh-place finish in 2003.
Barry Weiner Named MPSF Co-Coach of the Year
In 2008, California head coach Barry Weiner earned his fifth Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year award. Weiner shared the honor with Oklahoma head coach Mark Williams. Weiner last won the award following the 2004 season. Largely credited with developing Cal's men's gymnastics program into one of the nation's finest, Weiner led the Golden Bears to national championships in 1997 and 1998. He has had a total of eight top five national finishes, including a fifth-place showing in 2006, and 11 NCAA individual championships in his 16 seasons at Cal. The ninth-eleventh individual championships during Weiner's regime were Tim McNeill, who earned two NCAA titles on pommel horse and one on parallel bars.
In the Gym with Barry Weiner
"We need to have a pretty good day on Thursday and finish no worse than third in order to let it all hang out Friday. I think we need a good job from everybody on the team. Everybody needs to do a competent routine. Competing at Stanford is much better for us. We don't have to waste a day traveling and we get good training up until the meet. We're comfortable in Maples Pavilion - we've already competed there this year. Hopefully, we'll have a lot of guys in the individual finals Saturday. Tim McNeill is a three-time national champion and Kyson Bunthuwong is very good on high bar. Colin Christ, Tyler Block and Kyson are all good on parallel bars. We have a very good chance."
McNeill Honored as Nissem-Emery Award Finalist
Tim McNeill has been named one of the seven finalists for the Nissem-Emery Award. The winner of the award, which is annually presented to the nation's most outstanding senior male collegiate gymnast, will be announced prior to the 2008 NCAA Championships in Stanford, April 17-19. Looking to be the first Golden Bear to receive the "Heisman Trophy" of gymnastics, the Falls Church, Va., native is the 16th Cal gymnast to be listed as a finalist in the award's 43-year existence. McNeill, a three-time all-American, is this year's co-captain of the Bears for the second season and is currently tied for most individual NCAA titles in school history.
Recently in California Gymnastics
Cal took third place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships on April 5. Tim McNeill won two events -- pommel horse and parallel bars. The Bears were in second after the first rotation (59.100) and despite taking second on pommel horse, they moved into third after the second rotation (115.350). McNeill won pommel with a 15.100, and Kyson Bunthuwong was second on the Cal squad with a 14.300. Cal tied for first on rings with Oklahoma in the third rotation to take the lead with a score of 191.600. Kyle Brady paced the Bears on rings (15.450), while McNeill was second on the team (15.350). McNeill helped Cal win parallel bars by taking the event with a 15.850. Colin Christ and Tyler Block were right behind him, scoring a 15.450 and a 15.400, respectively. Christ's score was good for second place among all gymnasts. After rotation four, Cal battled in second (238.550) and heading in to the last rotation, California was in the lead with a score of 300.300.
Golden Bears on the National Scene
The Golden Bears are currently ranked fourth in the country. Cal's parallel bars team is tops in the country again this week with Tim McNeill holding down the No. 1 individual ranking spot. The pommel horse crew is fourth in the nation with McNeill occupying second and Kyson Bunthuwong tied for seventh place in the individual rankings, while Cal's rings and high bar teams are third and second, respectively. Cal was tabbed the No. 5 team in the country, according to the College Gymnastics Association's preseason poll.
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
Former Cal Gymnast Caleb Kirk Wins Scholarship Award
Caleb Kirk, a four-year letter winner on the Cal gymnastics team, was awarded the Pac-10 Conference's Living the Dream Scholarship, it was announced Jan. 17. The award recognizes student-athletes who participated on their school's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and also demonstrated leadership outside of athletics, and the winners receive $5,000 for post-graduate study. Kirk helped lead the team to its highest event score at the 2007 NCAA Championships when he posted a 9.45 on rings, which equaled his career high.
Where Cal Ranks Nationally2008 California MPSF Gymnasts of the Week
Team: No. 4 Floor: No. 9 Pommel: No. 4 Rings: No. 3 Vault: No. 9 Parallel Bars: No. 1 High Bar: No. 3 Individual National Rankings
Kyle Brady: No. 18 on rings Kyson Bunthuwong: No. 7 (t) on pommel No. 2 on high bar No. 3 on parallel bars Tim McNeill: No. 2 on pommel No. 1 on parallel bars Tyler Block: No. 8 on rings No. 4 on parallel bars No. 17 on high bar Colin Christ: No. 3 on parallel bars No. 21 (t) on high bar
Kyson Bunthuwong - Jan. 21
Kyson Bunthuwong won the all-around with an 88.45 on Jan. 18, to help Cal to a win over rival and top-ranked Stanford, which was Cal's first meet victory over the Cardinal since 2005. The El Cerrito, Calif., native, who is 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.
Kyle Bunthuwong - Feb. 18
Kyle Bunthuwong won the all-around (88.250) to help Cal drop No. 7 Ohio State on Feb. 16. Bunthuwong set new personal bests on pommel horse (13.950), vault (15.800), parallel bars (14.650) and high bar (14.800). He paced the Golden Bears on floor with a 15.050, which was good for third place. Bunthuwong took fifth on pommel horse (13.950), but it helped Cal edge Ohio State on the event. He took second on high bar, which helped Cal win the event. Bunthuwong also took second place on vault with a 15.800, which was the best score on vault by California.
Tim McNeill - March 10
In the heartbreaking 356.150-355.650 loss to top-ranked Stanford on March 8, Tim McNeill won parallel bars (15.450) and pommel horse (15.400). The Falls Church, Va., native competed on rings for only the second time this season and notched a new career high of 15.000 to take second place overall. McNeill set a new personal record of 15.700 on vault, which was second on Cal's team that night. The three-time national champion's performance on pommel horse, parallel bars and rings helped Cal edge the Cardinal on those events.
2008 California Regular Season Meet Recaps
No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 5 Cal - January 18 - Berkeley - Haas Pavilion
Then-No. 5 Cal defeated No. 1 Stanford at home Jan. 18 in 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 performance on the parallel bars gave them the win, 347.25-346.75. 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 won floor, vault and high bar.
Stanford Open - January 26 - Stanford, Calif. - Burnham Pavilion
No. 4 California took second at the Stanford Open on Jan. 26, finishing with 357.900 points behind first-place No. 3 Stanford (361.350) and ahead of Nebraska (333.850). The Bears excelled on pommel horse, taking the first event of the night with 58.200 points. Kyson Bunthuwong won pommel hose with a 14.800 with Tim McNeill and Colin Christ taking second and third, respectively. Tyler Block helped Cal to an event victory on still rings, notching a meet high and new personal-best 15.750. Tim McNeill led the Bears to a win on parallel bars with his first-place performance, scoring a career-high 15.750 on the event.
Winter Cup Challenge- January 18 - Las Vegas - Las Vegas Sports Center
Six Bears advanced to the final of the Winter Cup Challenge on Feb. 9 in Las Vegas, but none of the six received automatic selections to the U.S. Senior National Team based on their performances in the finals. Kyle Bunthuwong finished 24th in the all-around, Tim McNeill took third overall on pommel horse, and junior Kyson Bunthuwong fished fifth on the horizontal bar. Evan Roth put forth the best performance for the Bears on rings with a 29.350 (13th overall) after two days of competing. Colin Christ's best event was parallel bars, where he finished in 10th with a two-day score of 29.350. Tyler Block finished the competition with a 28.100 on rings (21st) and a 27.300 on horizontal bar (19th).
Pacific Coast Collegiate Classic - February 23 - Oakland, Calif. - Oakland Convention Center
California took third place, finishing the night with 354.400 points behind meet champion No. 1 Stanford (361.650) and No. 3 Oklahoma (359.800). Cal won parallel bars and high bar behind performances from Tim McNeill, who won parallel bars with a 15.400, and Tyler Block, who finished second on horizontal bar. Three Bears finished in the top 10 on pommel horse with Tim McNeill leading the pack in fifth place (14.700). Kyson Bunthuwong placed seventh with a 14.550 and Colin Christ tied for ninth (14.100). Tyler Block notched Cal's highest score on still rings with a 15.250, which placed him 10th. Evan Roth (15.200) and Kyle Brady (15.000) were close behind him, taking 12th and 13th, respectively. Kyson Bunthuwong scored a 14.850 (14th) and Christ scored 14.800 (15th) on the event, as well. Oklahoma dominated vault, taking the top six spots. Aaron Moy had the best score of the night for the Bears on vault with a 15.300 (17th). Kyle Litow was Cal's highest finisher on floor with a 15.000, which was good for 10th place. Parallel bars were a highlight for the Bears with McNeill winning the event with a 15.400. Christ took second (14.950) while Block and freshman Kyle Bunthuwong tied for eighth, each scoring a 14.700. On high bar, Block was second overall with a 14.950 and Kyle Bunthuwong tied for third with a 14.850.
Cal vs. Ohio State - February 16 - Columbus, Ohio - St. John Arena
Cal earned its second dual-meet victory of the year with a 355.200-351.000 victory over No. 7 Ohio State on Feb. 16 at OSU's St. John Arena. Freshman Kyle Bunthuwong won the all-around with 88.250, which was 3.800 points ahead of the second-place finisher. The Bears won pommel horse, rings, parallel bars and high bar to win the meet. Rings were a highlight for the Bears with senior Tyler Block winning the event with a 15.150. Cal took four of the top six spots on parallel bars to help it win the event, 60.200-58.400. The best event of the night for California was horizontal bar, where five Golden Bears finished in the top six to give Cal the win, 59.700-56.100. Eric Haeussler won his first event of the 2008 campaign with a 15.550 while Kyle Bunthuwong finished in second (14.800).
No. 4 Cal vs. No. 1 Stanford - March 8 - Stanford, Calif. - Maples Pavilion
Cal beat No. 1 Stanford in four events -- pommel horse, rings, parallel bars and high bar -- but dropped the Big Flip, 356.150 - 355.650, at Stanford. Tim McNeill won pommel horse with a 15.400, which was .400 better than his closest competitor. McNeill was Cal's top finisher on still rings, taking second with a career-high 15.000 and the Bears' collective effort gave them the win, 57.950-57.050. Parallel bars were the highlight of the night for the Bears, who overpowered Stanford thanks to first-place finishes by McNeill and Christ, each notching a 15.450. Kyson Bunthuwong competed in three events and won high bar with a career-best 15.100. Christ took third (14.800) and Block (14.700) was fourth to push the Bears over Stanford on the horizontal bar but it was not enough to take meet.
No. 2 Penn State vs. No. 4 Cal - March 15 - Berkeley - Haas Pavilion
No. 4 Cal upset No. 2 Penn State, 360.400-351.300, March 15. Kyson Bunthuwong won all-around with a 90.200. Cal won pommel horse, rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar to cinch the win. The Bears took pommel horse thanks to first and second-place performances by Kyson Bunthuwong (15.100) and McNeill (14.850), respectively. The Bears performed well on still rings, taking the event, 60.900-58.750, with Tyler Block winning the event with a 15.450. Cal held a 240.850-238.550 lead going into the final two rotations and extended that lead with a strong performance on parallel bars, taking the top five places and Kyson Bunthuwong won the event with a 15.650 while Kyle Brady, Colin Christ and Tim McNeill tied for second, each scoring a 15.00. The Bears dominated horizontal bar, winning the event, 58.900-53.950, to clinch the win.
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