Cal Returns to Action at Michigan

BERKELEY – After a week of rest, California men's gymnastics returns to competition with a trip to the Midwest.

The eighth-ranked Bears take on the 11th-ranked Michigan Wolverines on Saturday at 11 a.m. (PT) in a dual meet to open the second-half of the season. Saturday marks the beginning of the five up, five count scoring format for the remainder of the season. Moving forward, only five-man lineups are allowed with all five scores counted. In the early half of the season, teams were allowed a six-man rotations, with the top-five scores counted.

Live stats will be available here with scoring updates available throughout the meet on Twitter @CalMensGym.

Cal leads the overall series 22-13 and defeated Michigan in their last meeting 431.550-430.900, in 2016.

The Bears most recently hosted the Pac-12 Invitational, a quad that brought second-ranked Stanford, seventh-ranked Nebraska and 14th-ranked Arizona State to Berkeley. Despite posting their second highest team total of the season, the Bears finished third (404.050) ahead of the Sun Devils (387.700), but fell to the Cardinal (422.250) and Huskers (408.800).

All-arounders Aaron Mah and Yordan Aleksandrov have lead Cal throughout the season. Mah won the all-around competition against Iowa and then finished second at the quad meet with a 81.500 score, a season high. Aleksandrov has pulled in multiple event titles throughout the season, most recently notching the parallel bars win with a 14.550 performance, also a season best.

Michigan is led by sophomore Emyre Cole, whose posted consecutive vault titles in the last two duals against top-ranked Oklahoma and fourth-ranked Ohio State, respectively. Michigan is 3-5 with a season-high of 404.950 in team points.

STORYLINES FOR THE WEEKEND

Next Up
Cal returns home to host MPSF foe No. 9 Air Force (5-3) on March 4, who the Bears will also see in April for the MPSF Championships. The Bears are undefeated in 40 competitions with the Falcons, with their most recent victory coming in 2016 when Cal downed their conference opponents 435.550-429.200.

Oh Captain, My Captains
Head Coach Brett McClure has announced that redshirt junior Michael Rauchwerger and senior Capri Sano have been selected as California's captains for the 2017 season.

Bay Area Rivalry
The California Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinal meet up for the third time this season in one of the most storied rivalries in collegiate men's gymnastics. Despite posting an 0-5 record against Stanford in 2016, the Bears hold a 128-102-2 record all-time in the series. Both teams are currently ranked among the country's best, with Stanford coming in at number two nationally, and Cal ranking eighth in the 2017 College Gymnastics Association Preseason Poll. Cal earned its last team win over Stanford at Burnham Pavilion on the road on Jan. 25, 2014.

Familiar Faces
Cal Head Coach Brett McClure is in his fourth season at the helm of the Golden Bears' program in 2017, but definitely will see some familiar faces in red this weekend. McClure was an assistant coach for three seasons (from 2011-13) under current Stanford Head Coach Thom Glielmi. Some of the student-athletes on the Stanford side were coached by McClure, so he definitely knows what to expect from the home team. In addition, Stanford assistant Karl Ziehn is a former Cal gymnast, having competed for the Blue and Gold from 1999-2003.

MPSF Strength
Home of the defending team national champion Oklahoma Sooners, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation boasts four of the top teams in the country, and the league is poised to produce national contenders again this season. Oklahoma enters the 2017 season where it finished the last, ranked first in the College Gymnastics Association Preseason poll, while Stanford, the 2015 adn 2016 national runner-up, is right behind them at second. Cal ranks eighth and Air Force is 11th. The Golden Bears finished third in the MPSF for consecutive seasons, and are looking for their first conference championship since 2004.

Sophomores Stacked
The 2017 Golden Bears have seven sophomores on their roster. That number reveals a very young squad. But, youth does not equate to inexperience for Cal with all-arounder Aaron Mah returning after a competitive year. Teammates Bailey Chang, Harrison Plate and redshirt sophomore Nathaniel Ramil also saw some significant action in their first year of competition. While Mitchell Awisus and Roshan Toopal did not compete, they along with Haden McCarey who competed in one meet, gained valuable experience vying for a spot in the lineup against some of the best in the country a season ago. This group is focused on helping the Bears into national title contention, while developing on an individual level.

Freshman Trio from the East
Newcomers Anton Vorona (Sunrise, Fla.) Kyte Crigger (Manassas, Va.) and Jonathan Wang (Newton, Mass.) have all taken a journey across the country to compete for the Bears. As bold as the leap to join the Blue and Gold, is their potential with each having competed at the P&G Championships prior to joining Cal. Wang notched a P&G Championship title on parallel bars and also participated in Junior Olympic Nationals where he finished third on parallel bars.

Log On
Fans are encouraged to follow along with Cal Men's Gym on social media throughout the season. Get live updates during meets on Twitter @CalMensGym, or look for recaps and photos on Facebook at Facebook.com/CalMGym and @CalMensGym on Instagram. Fans can also log on to CalBears.com for full meet recaps and the latest news.

STORYLINES FOR THE WEEKEND

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Yordan Aleksandrov

Mitchell Awisus

Bailey Chang

Kyte Crigger

Aaron Mah

Haden McCarey

Harrison Plate

Nathaniel Ramil

Michael Rauchwerger

Capri Sano

Roshan Toopal

Anton Vorona

Jonathan Wang

California Golden Bears Athletics