Uncle Tim was there for opening day of the (poorly attended) Battle of California:
Haas Pavilion was packed on Sunday afternoon for the first of five matchups between Stanford and Cal this season.
… Cal lost to Stanford: 425.000 to 411.150. As the scores indicate, it was a rather decisive victory for the Cardinal gymnasts, who basically swept the individual titles as well. (Cal’s Jeffrey Langenstein tied Stanford’s Eddie Penev for the floor title. That was the only first place finish for the Bears.) Generally speaking, if a college team is going to be in the hunt, it needs to score 70 or above on almost every apparatus. Cal, unfortunately, fell short of that mark on five of the six events. …
Even though they lost, Cal has a lot to be proud of. Their team is made up of mostly freshmen–13 of their 20 gymnasts are freshmen–and for their youth, they posted a very respectable team score. …
My biggest concern for both teams is their health. More specifically, I’m worried about the gymnasts’ knees. On floor exercise, the trend is to do a lot of twisting in combination. Unfortunately, I saw a lot of gymnasts twisting right off the ground (a big no-no), as well as many who were still twisting as they’re feet are hitting the ground (an even bigger no-no). Those two things, in and of themselves, are recipes for disaster …
Click PLAY or watch Eddie Penev’s Floor on YouTube.
Team scores from the weekend
Penn State: 446.85 (HOLY MOTHER OF NADIA!)
Illinois: 425.45
Stanford: 425.00
Oklahoma: 423.5
Nebraska: 418.9
Gymnastics Coaching.com 