Stanford Men's Gymnastics Team Rung Up NCAA Title

PALO ALTO, CA — Stanford is celebrating a win from behind to capture the National Collegiate Athletic Association men's gymnastics title at the State Farm Center on the University of Illinois campus, the university announced Monday.

It looked as if Oklahoma would make it five straight NCAA titles, until the Cardinal erased a four-point deficit, producing a season best 71.131 score on rings. Andrew Bitner and Ian Gunther turned in identical performances of 14.366. Bitner's leadoff set was good for a new career best and sparked the comeback as the momentum continued to build throughout the rotation.

"We know high bar is a very tough scoring event, and you have to be almost perfect to score in the 14s," head coach Thom Glielmi said after the meet. "We felt that if we do our job on rings, we could have mostly 14s and break out a 70+; and if they miss a routine, we can put even more pressure on them, which is what happened."

The national championship is Stanford's sixth in school history and first since 2011. The Cardinal also won it all in 2009, 1995, 1993 and 1992. Malone not only captured the all-around crown with a career best 85.832, he also claimed the national title on floor, with a career high of 14.800 and 14.633 on high bar to become the first Cardinal in program history to win three titles in one season.