STANFORD – After a satisfying opening weekend, California returned to the gym with intent, making tweaks all week before it headed into its first road test of the season.
 
Those adjustments were noticeable on Saturday night at the Stanford Open as several Bears jumped into new bests throughout the meet at Burnham Pavilion and freshman Darren Wong took the all-around title, while senior Harrison Plate shared the win on still rings with Stanford's Thomas Lee.
 
In four rotations, at least a pair of Bears outscored previous season and career markers, efforts that head coach JT Okada hopes will keep moving the team in the direction it needs.
 
"The improvement on five out of six events is huge and our hit percentage was so much better today," Okada said. "We have injuries and people out sick, so when we add guys in and see what they're capable of, it's impressive to see this team step up tonight the way they did.
 
"It's our first road test and we're getting a lot of different experience here and better results. It's a cool place to be because sometimes when you're getting new experiences the outcomes aren't always there. But, tonight we got it."
 
Even in one of its strongest events, Cal improved its numbers, collecting a team total 68.100 on the floor slightly ahead of last week's 67.600. A solid effort kept each of the lineup scores above 13.000 with Wong continuing a career night, posting a team-high 14.300, and his second of five career performances en route to the all-around title with an 81.000 mark.
 
"I've been watching Darren train and to see him work through the mistakes and inconsistencies in the gym, and then to bring it out here made me really proud. He was a rock star out here today," Okada said.
 
Unfortunately, the Bears fell to top-ranked Cardinal 406.300-395.760, but were able to outlast NorCal United who finished with a score of 284.400 to get the first win of the season. Cal is now 1-2.
 
"There's still a lot of work we have to do in the gym," Okada added. "We've got to iron out some of these mistakes. This team is capable of even better than what we saw tonight."
 
The Bears opened the night on the parallel bars and were agonized by some difficulties. However, they held strong, even after the oddity of Mitchell Awisus' pants catching the edge of the bar and ripping. Aaron Mah followed up, showing composure as he hit on a huge dismount to lead the team and finish second  overall with a season best 14.100, while Wong managed his same impressive efforts from his collegiate debut a week ago and notched a career-high 13.450, a significant improvement from his 12.100 in the season opener.
 
Onlookers sounded off as the Bears completed their high bar rotation. After finishing a week ago with four consecutive hits, Cal pursued even better results with all seven hitting their routines and both Kyte Crigger (12.600) and Caleb Rickard (12.000) recording career highs. However, it was Mah once again who punctuated the event with a team-high 13.900.
 
Plate added a career-best effort of his own as he recovered from a difficult pommel horse, to anchor the still rings with a 14.300 to share the event title.
 
"Our seniors knowing themselves and knowing how to compete helps when the team needs them to step up," Okada said. "Harrison came back on rings and hit a great routine with a stuck dismount. It speaks to their experience to be able to rebound.
 
"I'm excited and proud of the guys for the work they did."
 
Cal returns home to host Stanford on Sunday Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. (PT). The meet will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
 
For more information on Cal men's gymnastics, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @CalMGym.