DAVIS, Calif. – For the second consecutive season, No. 14 Cal began its campaign with the second-highest score in a season opener in program history, and highest score ever in a season-opening road meet. The Bears turned in a 195.175 to claim first at the five-team NorCal Classic, topping No. 10 Stanford (193.450), UC Davis (194.350), Sacramento State (193.450) and San Jose State (194.050).

"We're in a great place starting out the season. Our focus wasn't to come in here and win, although that's nice," said California head coach Justin Howell. "Our focus was just to come in here and do the job that we do in the gym every day."

It is the first time in 34 consecutive meets that the Bears beat the Cardinal as Cal starts 4-0 on the season.

Freshman Toni-Ann Williams claimed a pair of titles in her debut, scoring a 9.85 on bars and a 9.875 in her first appearance on floor.

"It was great to see Toni and her athleticism really shine on this stage tonight," Howell said.

Sophomore Amber Takara shared the bars title with Williams.

The Bears opened the five-rotation meet on balance beam, tallying a 48.750 team total after debuting a lineup that included just three staples of Cal's beam team in 2014 – sophomores Charlie Owens and Desiree Palomares, and junior Serena Leong. Freshman Alicia Gallarzo and sophomore Zoe Draghi each made their Cal debut on the event, while sophomore Dana Ho joined the beam lineup for just the third time in her career. Palomares anchored the Bears on the event, turning in a 9.825 to finish as the event's runner-up, while Ho set a career-best 9.725.

Hosting UC Davis led after the first rotation, edging the second-place Bears by just 0.175 points, 48.925-48.750.

The floor exercise saw debuts from newcomers Arianna Robinson and Williams, who turned in strong scores of 9.750 and 9.875, respectively, to lead Cal on the event. Draghi set a career-high 9.80 and Palomares matched her personal best with the same score. Cal logged a 48.825 on the event for a 97.575 total score after two rotations.

Williams again turned in the team's top score on vault, earning a 9.875 in her inaugural performance for second place on the event.  Palomares and Takara led off in their collegiate debut on the event. As a team, the Bears totaled 48.725 on vault to push their overall score to 146.300 for first place heading into a bye before bars.

After the bye, the Aggies pulled ahead once again, this time leading Cal by only 0.025 points, 146.325-146.300. Stanford, meanwhile, had completed all four of its events for a 193.450 total, leaving the title race to UC Davis and Cal.

The Bears entered bars with the least experience of any of its four events with a lineup that included four gymnasts making their first appearance on the event. The inexperience hardly showed, as Takara and Williams both earned a team-best 9.85 on the event to share the title. Ho showed off a brand new dismount and hit her routine to claim third with a 9.825.

Palomares and Owens totaled 38.0 and 38.425 in the all-around, respectively. It was Palomares' first meet competing as an all-arounder.

Despite a few missed passes and slight mistakes, Howell was pleased with his team's performance to open the season.

"If we made mistakes, they needed to be because we were going hard, not tentative mistakes," Howell said. "I was really pleased because the mistakes that we had were just that - people were trying too hard rather than trying to dial it back a little bit. Ultimately, I felt like everybody did their job."

NEXT UP

Cal will once again face Sacramento State when the Bears head to the Hornets' Nest on Friday, Jan. 9 for a meet beginning at 7 p.m.

NEWS & NOTES

• Career-Bests*: V: None; UB: None; BB: Ho (9.725); FX: Draghi (9.80), Palomares (9.80, matched)
• Event Titles: V: None; UB: Williams and Takara; FX: Williams
• The Bears are 41-50 in season openers.
• This is the first time in 34 consecutive meetings that Cal beat Stanford.
• Cal's No. 14 ranking is its highest preseason ranking in program history, and 2015 marks the second consecutive season the Bears have opened the season ranked in the Top 25 in the GymInfo poll.
• The Bears are 117-114 in the regular season against their NorCal Classic opponents. Cal has the edge over Sacramento State (23-13), San Jose State (31-21) and UC Davis (44-7), while Stanford leads 73-19.
• No. 10 Stanford is the first of seven preseason-ranked opponents in 2015.

*only includes gymnasts who have competed at least once previously on an event.

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