The Stanford men’s gymnastics team enters this week’s NCAA Championship poised to compete for its third national championship in program history and the first since 1995. The fourth-ranked squad is out to improve on a third-place showing a year ago, when the Cardinal felt it could have just as easily taken home the title.

But this is a new year, and Stanford remains confident that this week is its time to shine.

“We are prepared,” head coach Thom Glielmi said. “We are well-conditioned and in shape, so we just have to do our jobs and be consistent.”

However, only two points separate the top five teams’ overall season averages as they head into the meet, so the title is far from a lock until the last dismount is made.

“It’s any team’s competition to win,” Glielmi said. “No one has really set themselves apart from the rest.”

Based on their average overall score this season, 12 teams were invited to this year’s NCAA Championships at Penn State. On Thursday, the teams will compete in two separate qualifiers.

Stanford faces five other teams in its qualifier group: Army, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa. The other qualifier features Temple, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Nebraska, California and Penn State. The top three teams from each qualifier advance to Friday’s competition, where the six teams contend for the national championship.

Stanford will need to compete well on Thursday just to have a shot at the title. Less than 24 hours later, the Card must compete again for the championship. But the quick turnaround does not worry the team.

“We have trained hard and competed three days in a row before,” Glielmi said. “We used the conference championships to do this, where we practiced hard Thursday and Friday, and then competed on Saturday.”

“We have been training even when we have been tired and not in top condition,” senior Dylan Carney added. “And we have been tapering back since [the conference championships]. We all feel good now, so three days in a row shouldn’t be a problem for us.”

The Cardinal enters the weekend with several athletes ranked nationally in their respective events. A defending NCAA champion, Carney averages more than three tenths of a point higher than the second-highest average scorer in the high bar (9.780-9.400). Junior David Sender is the defending NCAA vault champion, and this year ranks third overall in the event with a 9.160 average. Sender also ranks fourth in the high bar with a 9.140.

In one of the Cardinal’s strongest events, the still rings, three Stanford competitors rank in the nation’s top 15. Senior Alex Schorsch is No. 2 with an average score of 9.640; Sender comes in at No. 5 with a 9.570; and sophomore Bryant Hadden rounds out the top 15 with a 9.420.

In the pommel horse, junior Chris Harper ranks third nationally with an average score of 9.160 and Hadden is ninth with an 8.750.

Additionally, Sender enters this weekend as the top all-around gymnast in the country with an average total score of 54.130.

“It would be great if everything went smoothly in the meet,” Sender said. “But we know that no team is perfect. We will have to deal with any problems that arise — small or big — and not give up at any point.”

Though the Cardinal knows what atmosphere to expect, one new thing for the squad is the venue.

Instead of being held in Penn State’s large and spacious Bryce Jordan Center, the competition has moved to the Recreation Hall. The Hall is a considerably smaller facility and perhaps one of the smallest the team has ever competed at.

“The facility will definitely take some getting used to,” Carney said. “It will be really loud because of the small size, and it feels like the crowd can touch you as you are competing. But that shouldn’t put too much pressure on us.”

Stanford still hopes there is pressure on the other teams. Glielmi said that because the Cardinal has competed a lot this season, his team holds a slight edge.

“There are teams that have not had as many competitions as us this year,” Glielmi said. “That will help us put pressure on the other teams. Teams have even broken down in the past because of it, so we can take advantage of that this weekend.”

Overall, the Cardinal is confident in its ability to bring a home a national title.

“If we execute what we have done in training, we can win,” Sender said. “If we go out there and do what we normally do without any major falls or mishaps, we will be the team to beat.”

Contact Danny Belch at dbelch1@stanford.edu.