University of California Athletics

Rich Stenger was named associate head coach of the Cal women's gymnastics team in the summer of 2025.

In is first season in Berkeley, Stenger assisted the Golden Bears to a top-15 national ranking and a second-place finish in the ACC's regular-season standings. He helped Cal to its 13th consecutive postseason appearance, with the Bears reaching the round of 16 at the NCAA Championships, and aided in the Bears' regular-season wins over top-20 opponents Stanford, Michigan State, Clemson and North Carolina.

As the lead uneven bars coach, Stenger helped the squad to a No. 8 ranking on the event and placed five Bears in the top-100 as individuals. He helped tutor freshman standout Tonya Paulsson to finish the season tied for fifth in the nation on uneven bars with a 9.945 NQS, and gain notoriety as the highest-rated ACC gymnast on the event. With Stenger's instruction, Paulsson made a statement with her 9.925 on bars in her first-ever routine as a collegiate gymnast to set the tone for a phenomenal debut campaign, which included claiming the ACC Championship uneven bars title and her placement on the ACC All-Championship Uneven Bars Team. Stenger helped Paulsson score a 9.9 or higher on 12 out of 15 total routines in 2026 (10 of which went 9.925 or better) and record a career-high 9.975 on the event. Stenger's uneven bars lineup put together 15 combined routines by six different gymnasts that scored 9.925 or higher throughout the season. The top highlight of the Bears' uneven bars performance in 2026 featured Stenger's lineup going 6-for-6 on stuck landings on five different dismounts at the Sac State Tri Meet to post a season-best 49.550 team score on the event. 
 
Stenger came to Cal with over 30 years of coaching experience that spans NCAA, elite and Junior Olympic development levels. Prior to his appointment in Berkeley, he spent 11 seasons at Minnesota alongside his wife, head coach Geralen Stack-Eaton.
 
In Stenger's tenure at Minnesota, the Gophers made three NCAA Championship appearances, won a Big Ten championship and reached the NCAA Regionals every season. He helped guide the program to 30 NCAA All-America honors, 43 WCGA regular-season All-America selections, 14 NCAA Regional event titles, 46 All-Big Ten honors, 21 Big Ten individual event titles, five Big Ten and WCGA Regional Gymnast of the Year awards, and two AAI Award winners.
 
Serving primarily as the bars coach, Stenger oversaw technical development on all four events and played a key role in performance innovation. He developed and implemented strength, flexibility and leadership programs and was instrumental in recruiting strategy and relationship building with local clubs.
 
Stenger also helped produce one of the top gymnasts in program history, Mya Hooten. Hooten is a nationally lauded competitor who made four NCAA Championship appearances and tallied 15 All-America honors, five All-Big Ten selections, six Big Ten event titles and a program-record nine perfect 10s in the floor exercise.
 
Prior to joining the Gophers, Stenger worked with the Twin City Twisters in Champlin, Minnesota, where he served as an optional and elite coach from 2007-2017. He worked alongside Cal assistant coach Seth Helland for a period of that time. Stenger was an assistant coach at Roseville High School in Roseville, Minnesota, from 2005-2009 and a team coach at Roseville Gymnastics Center from 1994-2006.

Stenger received his Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from St. Cloud State in St. Cloud, Minnesota.