MPSF Men’s Gymnastics Week 6 Recap: Air Force goes back-to-back at All-Academy; Cal breaks 400
In Week 6 of MPSF men’s gymnastics, all four teams had themselves a great weekend. Most notably, Air Force won back-to-back All Academy Championships and California broke the 400 mark.
#9 Air Force @ All-Academy Championships
Final score: Air Force: 397.250, Navy: 390.100, Army: 381.050
The Falcons returned to the floor after three weeks off and made a statement, winning their second consecutive All-Academy Championship by a hefty 7.15 margin. Erich Upton (79.45), Garrett Braunton (79.3), and Oliver Zavel (78.4) went 1-2-3 in the all-around. Improvements on pommel horse and vault greatly overshadowed their 59.35 performance on high bar.
Patrick Hoopes’ 15.2 on pommel horse was easily the best routine of the competition and one of the best of the weekend. It feels like one of the longest horse routines, but it is jam-packed with difficulty – highlighted by a 3/4 Sohn to 720 Russian on one hand.
Upton claimed three event titles in addition to his all-around win: floor (14.5), vault (14.65), and parallel bars (14.0). Braunton was the Falcons’ top scorer on rings (13.1), and Zavel topped the Falcons’ high bar rotation (13.0).
Braunton and Hoopes will travel to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete at Winter Cup from February 23-25. The Falcons resume team competition March 2, when they travel to the Bay Area to face off against Nebraska and California.
#10 California at #1 Oklahoma
Final score: Oklahoma: 417.800 – California: 400.800
Oklahoma
Week in and week out, the Sooners continue to prove why they are the No. 1 ranked team in the country.
Per head coach Mark Williams, the team had three goals walking into Week:
- Hit 90%
- 10 sticks
- Score 415+
Going 27-for-30 with 10+ sticks and a 417.800, the Sooners comfortably achieved their goals while putting up the best team score of the weekend and further solidifying themselves as the best team in the NCAA.
The highlights of the competition were two 15s from Emre Dodanli on floor (15.05) and Ignacio Yockers on pommel horse (15.45). Dodanli and Yockers are both leading the NCAA on their events. Dodanli currently a 3-score average of 15.017, and Yockers sits at a 15.033. Joining Dodanli and Yockers in winning titles was Zachary Marckx on rings (13.75), Fuzzy Benas on vault (14.85), Kelton Christiansen on high bar (14.7), and Benas in the all-around 83.35. The Sooners improved on every event except parallel bars, most notably jumping 4.9 points on high bar, where they broke 70 on the event for the first time this season.
The Sooners are back in action on Saturday, February 17 at 1 p.m. ET against Simpson.
Five past and present Sooners will be competing at Winter Cup in two weeks: Colin Flores, Jack Freeman, Ignacio Yockers, Fuzzy Benas, and Yul Moldauer (alum).
California
The Bears put up a 400.800 performance last weekend in Oklahoma, breaking the 400 mark and building some momentum as the second half of the season approaches.
With the exception of vault, the Bears improved on every event and set season highs on four: 67.7 on floor (3-point improvement), 67.05 on pommel horse (3-point improvement), 68.05 on parallel bars (nine-tenth improvement), and a 64.7 on high bar (2.05-point improvement).
The Best Bear was awarded to Tyler Shimizu, who scored three personal bests on the weekend: 14.2 on floor, 13.75 on pommel horse, and a 13.25 on high bar. Noah Sano claimed the parallel bars title with a personal best 14.5. On Road to Nationals, Sano sits in seventh place individually on parallel bars, while the Bears are ranked fifth on the event as a team.
Joining Shimizu and Sano as top scorers for the Bears were Aidan Li on pommels (14.3), Chris Scales on rings (13.4), Jasper Smith-Gordon on vault (14.7), and Theodor Gadderud on high bar (13.45). Sean Shimizu also returned for the Bears, making his season debut on rings.
The Bears take the floor this weekend for a virtual competition against William & Mary on Sunday February 18, and Noah Newfeld will represent the team at Winter Cup in two weeks.
Team USA & Bay Area Bandits vs. #4 Stanford
Final score: Team USA: 415.650, Stanford: 410.300, Bay Area Bandits: 334.750
Despite another week “without” Asher Hong, Khoi Young, and Colt Walker (the Cardinal were also without Jeremy Bischoff this weekend), the Cardinal stepped up and improved 17.45 points from the previous week to notch a 410.300.
This meet was interesting because Stanford gymnasts made up both the Stanford and Team USA squads. Team USA, composed of Bischoff, Walker, Hong, Young, and Riley Loos (alum, still trains at Stanford), put up a 415.650 of their own.
This is the Stanford that we know well, with essentially two Stanford squads both going above 410. Hong and Young had themselves a day for Team USA; Hong scored 15s on three events (15.05 on floor, 15.2 on rings, and 15.25 on vault) and scored an impressive 86.85 in the all-around. Young followed with a 15.25 of his own on vault and an 85.7 in the all-around. For the Stanford squad, Taylor Burkhart and Brandon Nguyen both competed in the all-around, putting up an 83.95 and 82.1, respectively.
14.4 was the number for the Cardinal this weekend, with Burkhart, J.R. Chou, and Mark Berlaga each scoring their own to top the Cardinal’s rotations on floor, pommel horse, and rings, respectively. Rounding out the top scores for Stanford were a 14.8 on vault (Burkhart), 14.6 on parallel bars (Luke McFarland – career high), and a 13.75 on high bar (Burkhart). Other notable routines for Stanford included a 14.25 from McFarland on pommel horse, and a 14.55 from David Shamah on parallel bars.
Hong, Walker, and Young will be competing for Team USA at the Cottbus World Cup in Germany from February 22-25. Competing for the Cardinal at Winter Cup are Bischoff, Burkhart, Chou, Ian Gunther (alum), Loos (alum), Brody Malone (alum), Nguyen, Curran Phillips (alum), and Blake Sun (alum).
The Cardinal return to NCAA action on March 9 for a head-to-head matchup against Air Force in Colorado.
