MPSF Men’s Gymnastics Week 11 Recap: Cal, Stanford hit season highs to close out the regular season

In Week 11 of MPSF men’s gymnastics, Cal and Stanford hit season highs at Stanford’s senior night to close out the regular season.

#15 Simpson @ #11 Air Force

Final score: Air Force: 395.950 – Simpson: 347.300

The Falcons’ 395.95 was their third (and second consecutive) team score north of 395, helping to build that momentum and solidifying themselves as contenders against Greenville and Navy.  The Falcons swept the event titles at home. Garrett Braunton won floor with a season-best 14.3. Patrick Hoopes won horse (14.45), and Erich Upton won vault with a season-best 14.8 as well as high bar with a 13.1. Oliver Zavel had himself a day, winning three titles on rings (13.7) and parallel bars (14.3), as well as the all-around title with a 79.7.

The Falcons will host the USAG Championships from March 22-23 before traveling to Oklahoma for the MPSF Championships in early April.

#1 Oklahoma, #8 California @ #2 Stanford

Final score: Stanford: 421.150, Oklahoma: 410.500, California: 404.950

Stanford

The Cardinal returned to form for senior night in Burnham Pavilion, having since retaken the No. 1 spot in the NCAA and solidifying themselves as the frontrunner as we head into conference and NCAA Championships in a couple of weeks. The Cardinal have been trending up for the past two months and could not have timed it better.

In addition to honoring their three seniors – Jeremy Bischoff, Brandon Nguyen, and Colt Walker – for incredible collegiate careers, the Cardinal notched some season highs to top off the regular season, posting a 70.4 on pommel horse and tying their season-high 71.3 on rings. Bischoff scored season highs on floor (14.0) and parallel bars (14.55); Arun Chhetri on pommel horse (14.25), Asher Hong on pommel horse (14.0), vault (15.2), and parallel bars (14.9); Colt Walker on rings (13.95) and parallel bars (14.25); and Khoi Young on floor (14.3) and parallel bars (14.95).

The Cardinal claimed a handful of events titles as well: Hong won rings, vault, and the all-around (86.05), Young won parallel bars, and Bischoff won high bar (13.9).

The Cardinal will look to continue building on this upward momentum as they travel to Oklahoma for MPSF Championships at the beginning of April.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s 410.500 may not have been the highest score we’ve seen from the Sooners this season, but it speaks volumes about the team considering the absence of Fuzzy Benas and Head Coach Mark Williams, both of whom were over in Germany helping Team USA secure gold at the DTB Pokal Mixed Cup. A fantastic high bar routine from Benas secured gold for the United States, and it is fair to say that we can expect him to be repping the red, white, and blue again soon.

The Sooners scored a season-high 67.9 on rings to couple with a pair of event titles as well; Emre Dodanli won floor with a 15.0, something almost expected at this point in the season considering the season he has been having; Ignacio Yockers’ 14.8 on pommel horse secured him another event title for the year as well. 

Earlier this season, the Sooners looked to be the clear frontrunners, but due to a highly competitive second half of the season, the Sooners will need to channel that energy and dominance walking into the postseason. The Sooners next host the MPSF Championships in McCasland Field House in early April.

California

The Bears’ 404.95 is a season high and the Bears’ fifth-best score in modern program history. Despite having yet to break the 70 mark on any event this season, the Bears strung together three consecutive 69+ rotations. The Bears’ 69.55 on parallel bars was a modern program record, led by Noah Newfeld’s 14.1, and saw the return of veteran Miles Lee to the lineup with a 13.8. A 69.1 from the rings squad was also a best in modern program history, with Newfeld (13.85), Darren Wong (13.85), and Chris Scales (14.15) all claiming personal season bests on the event. Wong also claimed the Best Bear award for his second place high bar finish (13.8).

California made a statement in their final regular season competition, solidifying their place in the rankings above Navy and Air Force and effectively setting their sights on a top 6 finish at nationals. The Bears travel back to Oklahoma for the MPSF Championships in early April.