April 10, 2007

BERKELEY -

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

WHAT'S AHEAD:
The California men's gymnastics team heads to Penn State for the 2007 NCAA Championships. The national competition takes place from April 12-14. The Golden Bears are coming off a third-place finish in the Moutain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, which were held on March 30 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. At last year's national meet, three of the top five teams came from the MPSF.

LAST YEAR IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS:
In the 2006 NCAA Championships, the Bears came away with fifth place (215.000). Cal posted its highest team score of the evening on high bar, recording a 37.650, with three Bears posting new career-bests on the apparatus. Colin Chirst guided the Bears on the event, posting a new career-best of 9.600 and tying for fifth. Tim McNeill, another Bear to set a new career best, registered a 9.375. On parallel bars, the Bears recorded a team score of 36.675, with all four competitors scoring above a 9.000. Kyson Bunthuwong led Cal in scoring, recording a 9.300 to place seventh. Three Bears advanced to the individual event finals: McNeill (pommel horse), Christ (high bar) and Bunthuwong (parallel bars). McNeill won the national title on pommel horse with a score of 9.350. Christ and Bunthuwong also earned All-America honors for their efforts in their events. Christ took fifth on high bar (9.387) and Bunthuwong 10th on parallel bars (8.125).

CAL'S HISTORY IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS:
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 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. 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.

CAL RECORDS SEASON-BEST TOTAL IN MPSF CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Two weeks ago in the MPSF Championships held at Haas Pavilion, Cal tallied its season-best team score of the season (215.000). The Bears took third in the competition, as Oklahoma came in first (217.950) and Stanford finished in second (216.100). Nebraska ended the meet in fourth (203.450) and Air Force in fifth (189.050). Cal was victorious in one of the six events, as it claimed victory on parallel bars with a score of 36.400. Tim McNeill's 9.350 topped all other gymnasts on parallel bars. Colin Christ's 9.250 was good enough for third overall. The Bears scored their highest event score on still rings. They notched a 37.900 on the apparatus, as Cal took second on that event. McNeill and Tyler Block tied for third out of all gymnasts with a 9.650. They were two of four Bears to score over a 9.0 in the event. Kyle Brady scored a 9.450 and Caleb Kirk recorded a 9.150. Still rings was one of three events that the Bears finished in second. In addition to his strong performances on parallel bars and still rings, McNeill came in second among all gymnasts on pommel horse. The reigning NCAA champion in that event notched an 8.850.

RECAPING THE REGULAR SEASON:
Cal entered the 2007 campaign with a preseason ranking of No. 4. After falling to then-second-ranked Stanford in the opening meet, the Bears came back with a strong performance the following week in the Stanford Open. Although the Cardinal won the meet, Cal placed second, beating Nebraska and Washington. In the Pacific Coast Classic on Feb. 24, the Bears took third, beating Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota. In the next competition, the Peter Vidmar Invitaional, Cal earned its second victory over a conference foe. The Bears defeated Air Force, 210.450 - 192.300, and got their record over .500 for the first time during the season. In what was perhaps the biggest victory of the year thus far, Cal took down then-No. 3 Ohio State, 213.000 - 212.300, at Haas Pavilion. The Bears first meet scheduled to take place at Penn State on March 17 was cancelled. Cal couldn't fly to the East Coast for its dual meet against the Nittany Lions due to bad weather. Two weeks following the cancelled trip, the Bears took third in the MPSF Championships, the final meet at Haas Pavilion of the 2007 season.

BEARS IN THE RANKINGS:
In the men's national individual rankings, Tim McNeill is ranked in the top 10 for three events. McNeill, the reigning NCAA champion on pommel horse, is currently ranked second in that event with an average score of 9.210. He is also ranked fourth on parallel bars with an average score of 9.420. The third event that McNeill placed in the top 10 was still rings (10th, 9.490). Tyler Block is currently ranked eighth on still rings (9.510). Colin Christ is currently 15th on parallel bars (9.070).

MCNEILL 2006 NCAA CHAMPION:
Last year's top performer, Tim McNeill, won the 2006 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 2006 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 competitor on any event in the MPSF Championships.