April 5, 1999
Bears head to NCAA West Regional
The 13th-ranked California mens gymnastics team makes its seventh Regional appearance of the 90s this weekend, when the Golden Bears travel to Provo, Utah, Saturday, April 10, for the 1999 NCAA West Regional Championship. Vying for this years Regional title in addition to Cal and host school Brigham Young, are Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Stanford with the Top three teams advancing to the 1999 NCAA Mens Gymnastics Championships, April 22-24, in Lincoln, Neb.
Cal at the West Regional
California is the two-time defending West Regional Champion. Since finishing seventh in 1992, Cal has posted fifth place finishes in 1993 and 94, along with a fourth in 95. The Bears captured their first West Regional title of the decade in 1997 with a score of 233.125. Cal then made it back-to-back championships with a final score of 231.450 at last years competition.
Last years NCAA West Regional
California captured its second-consecutive West Regional championship last year in Norman, Okla. The Bears, who combined to score 231.450 points, extended their perfect season to 35-0 with the win. Individually, Oleg Kosyak captured the all-around title (58.025) as well as event championships on parallel bars (9.750) and vault (9.750), as Cal gymnasts placed in the Top 3 in every event except still rings. Cals other individual event titles went to Andrew Hampy on floor (9.775) and Josh Birckelbaw on pommel horse (9.875).
Cal versus the field
Cal enters the 1999 NCAA West Regional with a 10-14 overall record, but advancing to the NCAA Championships is going to take a monumental upset. The Bears have faced all four Regional opponents so far this season and to date have posted a 1-10 record against them. Heres a look at how Cal has faired head-to-head against the field at this years Regional: Brigham Young (0-4), Stanford (1-4), Nebraska (0-1), and Oklahoma (0-1).
Close call for Cal
Being a two-time defending Regional champion doesnt earn you any extra points in the regional rankings, but Cal could have used them as the Bears just squeaked by New Mexico to secure the fifth and final spot in this years west regional - especially with the Regionals size being cut from six to five teams. Cal, which finished the season with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 222.317, finished only .225 of a point ahead of the Lobos (222.092).
Most recently
Senior co-captain Alexander Nissen advanced to the individual event finals on still rings and horizontal bar and sophomore Tal Moscovitz moved on in parallel bars, as California scored 221.150 to finish in sixth place at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Mens Gymnastics Team Championships, on March 26 in Norman, Okla. Nissen reached the event finals by the skin of his teeth, posting 9.500s on both rings and horizontal bar to place eighth in both events. Moscovitz, who recorded a 9.450 on parallel bars, placed fifth.
Injuries a Bear for Cal
After losing six seniors to graduation, Cal took another big personnel hit just prior to the start of the season when it learned that standouts Alex Chansky and Oleg Kosyak, a pair of gymnasts who figured to play huge roles for the Bears in 1999, would not compete for Cal this year. Chansky, a 1998 co-captain, left Cal to train for the 2000 Olympic games, while Kosyak did not completed enough units to be eligible. To make matters worse, Cal lost two more potential all-arounders in sophomore Jason Furr and junior two-time All-American Andrew Hampy to injury following the Bears first meet of the season. Most recently, Cal lost All-American Dave Eskildsen just prior to its meet with Illinois. Eskildsen, who had developed into a solid five-event performer, broke the index finger on his right hand during practice. He had surgery to repair the damage and will also miss the balance of the season.
Cal in the National Rankings
The Golden Bears enter the NCAA West Regional with a No. 13 national ranking. Event-by-event, Cal ranks as follows: floor - 12, horse - 9, rings - 13, vault -16, p-bars - 13, h-bar -12.
Movin on up
Despite being young and battered by injuries, Cal has shown an incredible amount of improvement during the 1999 season. After scoring just 214.800 and 213.400 in its first two meets of the year, Cal has topped the 220-point barrier in six of its last seven meets. The Bears began to get things turned around at UC Santa Barbara Feb. 13, when they combined to score 222.400. Cal posted its best score of the season with a 225.225-point effort versus Illinois. Over the last three meets, Cal has averaged 222.167 points, a jump of over five points compared to the first three meets of the year when Cal averaged 216.867.
Nissen Leads the Way
Senior co-captain Alexander Nissen has clearly been the driving force of the 1999 Golden Bears. Nissen, who rates as the nations No. 11 all-arounder (No. 3 regionally), has finished in the Top 3 in eight of nine meets this season, including five first place finishes. His best outing was at home versus Illinois, when he tallied a career-best 57.450 points. In addition to his national ranking in all-around, Nissen also ranks No. 11 nationally on high bar.
Moscovitz the man
Sophomore Tal Moscovitz may have had the best meet of any Golden Bear this season versus Illinois. The sophomore registered the second-best floor exercise score in school history with a career-high 9.875, just .625 behind Cals school record of 9.950 set by Bob Sundstrom in 1987. His score on floor also moved him into the No. 3 position in the GymInfo (3/15) floor exercise rankings with a three-score average of 9.725. Overall, Moscovitz posted career highs on horse (9.800), rings (9.450), vault (9.700) and p-bars (9.800) against the Illini. Moscovitz competed all-around for the first time in his collegiate career last week at BYU (54.250).
Kutz kicking in
With all the injuries and personnel losses the Bears have suffered since Christmas, the emergence of freshman Tom Kutz has been a welcome and necessary surprise. Kutz, who has been a steady five-event performer for most of the season, set career-highs on horse (9.550) and rings (9.200) versus Illinois and vault (9.250) at Brigham Young.
Head Coach Barry Weiner
Head coach Barry Weiner is in his eighth season at Cal with a career record of 151-42-1 (.781). A 1970 graduate of Temple University, Weiner is largely credited with developing the University of California gymnastics program into one of the nations finest. The 1997 National Coach of the Year, Weiner has led the Golden Bears to back-to-back NCAA Championships the past two seasons (1997 and 98). Last season, Weiners Bears posted their second consecutive unblemished campaign, closing out the 1998 regular season with a perfect 23-0 record.
CAL MENS GYMNASTICS
1999 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
10-14 Overall, 8-10 MPSF
Date Competition Result
Jan. 8 Stanford W 214.8-211.9
Jan. 30 at Cardinal Open
Stanford L 213.4-215.15
UCSB W 213.4-208.00
Feb. 13 at UCSB W 222.4-217.70
Air Force W 222.4-217.35
Feb. 20 at Stanford L 221.25-222.00
BYU L 221.25-222.15
Feb. 25 at UCLA Invite
BYU L 219-70-224.85
Stanford L 219-70-219.80
UCLA W 219-70-212.15
UCSB W 219-70-209.85
Mar. 6 at UCSB Invite
Penn St. L 223.40-223.95
Michigan L 223.40-226.40
UCSB W 223.40-214.825
Washington W 223.40-191.75
Mar. 12 Illinois L 225.225-228.025
Mar. 19 at BYU L 220.10-226.05
MPSF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Mar. 26-27 at Norman, OK 221.150, 6th
NCAA West Regional
Apr. 10 at Provo, UT 7:00
NCAA Championships
Apr. 22-24 at Lincoln, NE 7:00
WWW.CALBEARS.COM
A wealth of information regarding Golden Bear athletics is available via the internet. All Cal team releases, results, statistics, schedules as well as coach and player information can be found at www.calbears.com. Stats and results are updated after each contest or as soon as they become available.
1999 CALIFORNIA MENS GYMNASTICS ROSTER
Name Event(s) Ht. Wt. Yr. Exp. Hometown (Previous School/)
Alexander Nissen AA 5-9 165 Sr. 1V Bodo, Norway (Bodo Woeregaende)
Jeff Stein AA 5-10 160 Sr. 3V Houston, TX (Alexander Smith)
Andrew Hampy AA 5-4 130 Jr. 2V Clovis (Buchanan HS)
Edward Burch AA 5-9 165 So. TR Albuquerque, NM (New Mexico)
Dave Eskildsen AA 5-5 135 So. 1V Orangevale (Casa Roble HS)
Jason Furr AA 5-7 135 So. 1V Woodbridge, VA (Garfield HS)
Tal Moscovitz AA 5-7 165 So. 1V Raanana, Isreal (Ort Shfaim HS)
Suhail Arastu PH 5-9 165 Fr. CB San Antonio, TX (MacArthur HS)
Ian Kelley-Thomas PH 5-8 145 Fr. RS San Rafael (Marin Academy)
Tom Kutz AA 5-10 140 Fr. CB Columbia, MO (Long Reach HS)
Marcus Powell PB, V 5-6 130 Fr. RS Houston, TX (Cypress Falls HSs)
Brian Sano PH, SR 5-9 140 Fr. CB Spring Valley (Monte Vista HS)
Karl Ziehn AA 5-7 155 Fr. CB Truckee (Tahoe- TruckeeHS)
Head Coach: Barry Weiner (Temple, 70) 8th Year
Assistant Coach: Evgenii Zherebchevskiy (Cal, 98) 1st Year
GYM INFO TOP 20 NATIONAL RANKINGS - 3/15/99
Rk. Team RQ Average
1. Michigan 229 .542
2. Ohio State 228 .442
3. Iowa 228 .417
4. Penn State 228 .050
5. Nebraska 227 .908
6. Michigan State 227 .192
7. Oklahoma 226 .642
8. Illinois 226 .250
9. UMass 224 .633
10. Ill-Chicago 223 .983
11. Brigham Young 223 .758
12. Stanford 223 .325
13. California 222 .317
14. New Mexico 222 .092
15. Minnesota 217 .125
16. Air Force 216 .875
17. Army 216 .833
18. William & Mary 216 .292
19. Temple 216 .192
20. Navy 213 .733
CAL IN THE RANKINGS
Event Rank Average
Floor Exercise 12 37.117
Pommel Horse 9 37.917
Still Rings 13 37.033
Vault 16 36.800
Parallel Bars 13 36.733
High Bar 12 37.017
CAL 1999 TEAM HIGHS
Event Date Opponent Score
Team Score 3/12 Illinois 225.225
Floor 3/12 Illinois 37.525
Horse 3/12 Illinois 38.700
Rings 3/12 Illinois 37.350
Vault 3/12 Illiinois 37.550
P-Bars 2/20 Stanford, BYU 37.500
CAL 1999 INDIVIDUAL HIGHS
Event Date Gymnast Score
All-Around 3/12 Nissen 57.450
Floor 3/12 Moscovitz 9.875
Horse 3/12 Moscovitz 9.800
3/06 Eskildsen 9.800
Rings 3/12, 2/12 Nissen 9.650
Vault 3/12 Moscovitz 9.700
P-Bars 3/12 Moscovitz 9.800
H-Bar 3/12 Nissen 9.850
H-Bar 2/13 UCSB, AF 37.950
