Stanford’s NCAA title streak hits 50 years following Men’s Gymnastics title
On Saturday at the University of Illinois, Stanford men’s gymnastics won the national championship with a score of 329.825 to edge Oklahoma, who came in second place with 328.495. Michigan (324.857), Nebraska (324.662), Illinois (322.224), and Ohio State (316.093) were also in the final. As a result, Stanford as a university has now won at least one NCAA national title for 50 years straight.
GoStanford.com: Men’s Gymnastics wins NCAA title; Stanford’s streak hits 50
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BOX SCORE: NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championship- Saturday, April 18th
Two Stanford gymnasts took individual titles: Junnosuke Iwai took the vault title with a score of 14.433 while Cooper Kim took the floor title with a score of 14.466. The best event Stanford had as a team was on the parallel bars with a team score of 56.432. Asher Hong had his best performance on the parallel bars with a score of 14.400, edging his score of 14.300 on the still rings, which is typically his strongest event. David Shamah came up big on the parallel bars with a score of 14.333, the only event he competed in during the finals.
Across the board, Stanford had scores of 55.365 in the floor, 51.998 in the pommel horse, 55.199 in the still rings, 56.266 in the vault, 56.432 in the parallel bars, and 54.565 in the horizontal bar, creating the all-around score of 329.825. The team high for pommel was Arun Chhetri with 13.433. The team high for still rings was Asher Hong with 14.300. The team high for parallel bars was Hong again with 14.400. The team high for horizontal bars was Cooper Kim with 14.00. And then of course, Junnosuke Iwai’s 14.433 led the way in vault while Kim’s 14.466 led the way in floor.
The pommel horse has been a weak spot for the Cardinal all season long, but they were able to overcome that with really strong performances in every other event. It truly was an all-around great team performance in order for the Cardinal to capture this national championship.
For the Stanford men’s gymnastics program, they continue to cement their status as the premier program in the nation. This is their 10th national title as a program overall and their sixth national title in the last seven seasons going back to 2019 (2020 canceled due to COVID). That’s dominance right there. Like, serious dominance. Head coach Thom Glielmi has done an amazing job at getting this program to being such a juggernaut.
As for Stanford University, this is a big deal. To win an NCAA national championship at least once for 50 straight years speaks to their consistency as one of the top collegiate athletics departments in the nation. I think there was a little bit of nerves and anxiety around the athletic department of possibility of not continuing the streak for a 50th straight season. So, everyone can relax. The mission has been accomplished!
And hey, there’s still a chance for some other teams to possibly win a national title of their own. Women’s golf and women’s water polo both have a great opportunity in front of them as well. So the year is not yet done.
Overall, this is a great achievement for both Stanford as a university and as a men’s gymnastics program. Winning an NCAA national title is never easy. Any time you can do that in any sport, you should be celebrating. Especially when it also includes an historic milestone.
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