University of California Athletics

First competition is January 31st

Jan. 27, 1998

BERKELEY, Calif. -- The 1997 National Champion California men's gymnastics team opens their 1998 season at Stanford, Saturday January 31 at 7:00 p.m. The Bears will face the number eight-ranked Stanford Cardinal and the UCSB Gaunchos in a three-team meet.

Cal finished 1997 with a 17-0 overall record and achieved a team record 233.825 point total at the NCAA Championships to earn the coveted national title. The Bears capped their impressive season by garnering five All-America awards after the completion of the NCAA individual event finals.

The Bears have lost eight lettermen from last year's team but the 1998 squad looks to be a formidable one behind the leadership of junior Oleg Kosiak and senior Evgenii Zherebchevskiy. Kosiak was a member of the Ukranian Olympic team that won a bronze medal in the team event at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. In his first season at Cal, Kosiak qualified for the 1997 NCAA individual finals on the parellel bars, the horizontal bar and the floor event before an injury during his floor routine forced him to withdraw from the remainder of the competion. He was co-Ukrainian ring champion with fellow countryman and teammate, Zherebchevskiy, who competed internationally for both the junior and senior Ukrainian national teams before coming to Cal.

Zherebchevskiy currently holds the Cal record on the rings (9.925) and finished in seventh place at the NCAA individual championships last year on both the rings and parallel bars. He just missed out on All-America honors awarded to the top six finishers in each event.

Barry Weiner is in his seventh season as head coach of the Golden Bears with a career record of 99-33-1. He is assisted by David Kruse and Trent Wells, two former Cal gymnasts who won nine All-America awards between them.