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Alvin Chow

Sophomore Bryant Hadden earned a 9.6 on the still rings at Friday's meet against Michigan.

The No. 5 Stanford men’s gymnastics team earned a weekend split, falling to No. 1 Michigan on Friday but rallying to defeat No. 10 Nebraska on Sunday. Entering the weekend undermanned due to injuries (junior co-captain David Sender was also absent due to personal circumstances), the Cardinal could not upend Michigan.

The Wolverines executed strong routines, and with the Cardinal being undermanned by as many as two athletes in various events, they could not make up the needed points. Michigan won 212.35-208.1. Less than two days later in Lincoln, Neb.,Stanford fared much better, winning by a score of 216.85-206.30.

On Friday, the Cardinal put together some good exercises, with sophomore Greg Ter-Zakhariants and senior co-captain Dylan Carney posting scores of 9.05 and 9.00, respectively, on the floor exercise. Stanford was able to enter the maximum six gymnasts in the floor exercise and as a result led after the first rotation, 35.35-33.60. Michigan took the lead on the next rotation, though, as the Cardinal switched to pommel horse while Michigan tallied its highest score of the night (37.70) on the floor exercise.

“We are obviously disappointed,” Carney said. “We were a little off on our landings compared to usual. We did not do badly, but we could have done better.”

The short-handed Cardinal squad continued to face difficulty with only four gymnasts to Michigan’s five in the still rings. Stanford was down 71.3 to 69 entering the event, hoping to make up points while Michigan was on the vault. Senior Alex Schorsch earned a 9.5 and sophomore Bryant Hadden a 9.6, but the high scores were not enough to gain a lead over Michigan, as the Wolverines’ depth only allowed Stanford to pull within two points, 141.40-139.70.

Lack of depth would plague the Cardinal from there on, highlighted by Stanford’s four gymnasts in the high bar to Michigan’s six. Michigan did well enough to counter solid Stanford performances and the Cardinal suffered a tough defeat. The slim four-point margin of victory for the Wolverines was hard to swallow for the Cardinal, but the team knew it had another meet with which to redeem itself.

Stanford rebounded nicely to down Nebraska in its first trip away from the West Coast this season. Pushed by a Huskers squad that scored its highest point total of the season (206.30), Stanford had five first-place finishers out of six events, including sweeps of the top five spots in the floor exercise and top three spots in the still rings.

“I was impressed by how well we did,” Carney said. “We were a lot better, and we didn’t make as many mistakes as we did [versus Michigan]. We were not perfect, but knowing we can improve on good performances is something to be happy about.”

Sender, who missed Friday’s meet due to undisclosed circumstances, was back in the lineup for Sunday. The co-captain had no trouble getting back into the mix, as he won the all-around competition with a score of 54.05.

Other notable highlights included career bests for juniors Chris Harper and Eli Alcaraz. Harper recorded a score of 9.15 on the parallel bars, toppling his previous best of 9.00. Alcaraz’s previous best on the floor exercise was 8.75 until Sunday, when he turned in a 9.00. Carney tied his career best with a 9.70 in the high bar, good for a first-place finish.

Carney commented on how well Harper did on Sunday. The junior is one of the top gymnasts in the nation in both the parallel bars and the pommel horse. The senior was impressed with Harper’s execution and overall performance.

Harper finished first on the pommel horse with a 9.40 and second in the parallel bars with the 9.15. He is establishing himself among the elite in the nation, as his routines are becoming more and more polished and relaxed.

“I definitely redeemed myself from Friday,” said Harper, who did not score above a 9.0 versus Michigan, but turned it around two days later. “The parallel bars are becoming nearly automatic for me. My body pretty much knows what to do now. It’s a credit to the training program.”

Harper does not think there will be much pressure on him or the team heading into the more crucial part of the season.

“There really is no pressure,” he said. “We just have to go out there and perform. With all the training we have done, the solid routines will unfold themselves.”