MPSF Men’s Gymnastics Week 7 Recap: Fresh faces get reps for Oklahoma as Cal comes up short of another 400

In Week 7 of MPSF men’s gymnastics, California and Oklahoma saw lower team scores while Stanford and Air Force had byes ahead of Winter Cup.

#1 Oklahoma @ #14 Simpson

Final score: Oklahoma: 400.600 – Simpson: 360.950 

Oklahoma’s 400.600 last weekend was their lowest score of the season by 6.05. The Sooners saw a decrease in every single event score from the previous week – most notably an 8.85 decrease in their high bar rotation.

Per head coach Mark Williams, Mac Seyler and Dan Simmons both returned to the lineup for the first time since injuries; Seyler put up a 12.45 on pommel horse, and Simmons scoring a 12.35 on floor. Williams also said there was just about a new face on every event for the Sooners; those making season debuts included Simmons on floor, Seyler on pommels, Matthew Burgoyne (14.15) and Zach Nunez (14.45) on vault, and Max Bereznev and Leo Koike on high bar.

Despite a couple of errors throughout the night, the Sooners still have a lot to be proud of. The Sooners swept the event titles, Burgoyne won floor (13.75), Ignacio Yockers won pommel horse (14.85), Adriel Perales won rings (13.45), Koike won vault (14.9), Nunez won parallel bars (13.85), and Kelton Christiansen won high bar (14.2). The best routines of the night were easily Yockers’ 14.85 on horse and Koike’s 14.9 for his stuck Kas 1.5.

At this point in the season, most teams would be content with breaking the 400 mark, but this Sooner team, who we have seen score a 420.350, definitely has a different mentality. Heading into Winter Cup next week, this was the perfect weekend to have newcomers on events and have guys return from injuries. As we look ahead to the latter half of the season, this Sooner squad will definitely use this performance as motivation for the coming weeks and look to reach back into the 410s, and maybe even 420s, when they return to the competition floor for a head-to-head against Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday, March 2. Before that, though, five Sooners (Yockers, Jack Freeman, Colin Flores, Fuzzy Benas, and alumni Yul Moldauer) will travel to Louisville, Kentucky, this weekend. The four current Sooners will look to earn spots on the U.S. national team.

#8 California vs. #13 William & Mary

Final score: California: 393.150 – William & Mary: 376.900

The Bears came up a little short compared to their 400.8 performance in Oklahoma last week. The first fully virtual meet of the season still had some good takeaways. The Bears put up their best pommel horse rotation this year with a 67.45, led by Aidan Li’s 13.9; they also tied their season-high 69.85 on vault, once again led by Jasper Smith-Gordon’s 14.55.

The Bears swept the event titles: Brendan Strom won floor (13.4), Li won pommel horse (13.9), Jaxon Mitchell won rings (13.6), Smith-Gordon won vault (14.55), Noah Newfeld won parallel bars (13.65), and Darren Wong won high bar (13.5). With the exception of floor, the Bears improved their performance on the first four rotations and were in a good position to break 400 for the second time this season, but a season-low 62.25 on parallel bars put another 400+ team score out of reach.

Winning the Best Bear award was Jaxon Mitchell, who notched a personal best on rings with a 13.6 and put up a 12.3 on the high bar. Yu-Chen “Miles” Lee also returned from injury to the vault lineup for the second week this season, scoring a 13.75 for his solid Kas full. Cal only has two meets remaining in the regular season – both tri-meets, one at home and one across the Bay in Palo Alto.

Over the next two meets, the Bears will work to break that 400 mark again and build some momentum heading into the postseason.

Newfeld will once again be representing the Bears in Kentucky this coming weekend at Winter Cup. The Bears next competition as a team will be Sunday, March 3, when they host Air Force and Nebraska for their senior night.

#2 Stanford

Stanford was on a bye in Week 7 ahead of Winter Cup. The Cardinal return to the competition floor on Saturday, March 9, when they will travel to Colorado for a head-to-head matchup with Air Force.

Air Force

Air Force was on a bye in Week 7 ahead of Winter Cup. The Falcons return to the competition floor on Sunday, March 3, when they will travel to California for a tri-meet with the Bears and Nebraska.