SAN JOSE – As the first day of classes approaches for UC Berkeley's student body, California men's gymnastics junior Tyler Shimizu will have one extra thing on his mind – the Xfinity U.S. Championships, held at the nearby SAP Center in San Jose this year. The meet has the highest stakes of Shimizu's young career, as he will be going toe-to-toe with many of the nation's best gymnasts competing for a spot on this fall's Team USA squad. The top-10 finishers in the all-around will earn spots on the national team; Shimizu himself will be competing in the floor exercise, pommel horse and parallel bars.
 
Shimizu earned a berth to the national meet with a 12th-place all-around finish at this year's NCAA Championships, posting a score of 79.398 as one of the top-six gymnasts who had not already pre-qualified.
 
"Tyler has put in a lot of work to be very proficient on all six events," head coach J.T. Okada said. "He's done a lot of preparation and made some upgrades to put himself in a position to be a strong competitor. It's fun to see that sort of improvement and development in somebody who comes in with the mindset that they want to compete at the next level."
 
"This is a great opportunity for him to gain experience and compete with the top gymnasts in the country," associate head coach Bryan Del Castillo said. "We've made some skill adjustments and our goal is to have better execution on his routines. Competing upgrades in a high-pressure meet will also help him in his preparation for the upcoming NCAA season."
 
Fans can watch the first day of the championships (5 p.m. PT) via live stream on Peacock (in the U.S.) and the USA Gymnastics YouTube channel (outside of the U.S.). Day two of the senior men's session (4 p.m.) will additionally be broadcast live on CNBC.
 
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