BERKELEY – After hitting several milestones throughout a highly competitive season, California welcomes its next challenge on the biggest stage as the Golden Bears head to the NCAA Championships Qualifier in Champaign this weekend.
 
A pair of 400-plus scores, an innumerable amount of surpassed career and season notes, and a breakout freshman year for all-arounder Darren Wong, who earned two CGA Rookie Gymnast of the Week honors and a MPSF Gymnast of the Week nod, propel the Bears into the national dance confidently.
 
The two days includes the Friday opener and qualifying round, with two sessions, six teams in each. Sessions are scheduled for 11 a.m. (PT) and 5 p.m. Cal, who is ranked 11th, will compete in the later session against Bay Area rival and No. 2 Stanford, as well as No. 3 Michigan, No. 6 Minnesota, No. 7 Nebraska and No. 10 Navy.

Cal sees Stanford for the ninth occasion this season, but Friday will mark the first time it faces the remainder of the field in 2019. The Bears saw the Gophers last season and the Wolverines in 2017, both losses. 

The top three teams from each session Friday and the top three all-around competitors not on one of the qualifying teams, plus the top three individuals on each event not already qualified on a team or as an all-around competitor, will advance from each pre-qualifying session to the finals session on Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
Live stats and a live stream will be available on NCAA.com for each session.
 
This weekend marks the sixth consecutive trip for the Bears to the national stage. Last year, Cal did not advance to the team finals finishing last in its session, but seven Bears advanced to individual event finals, double the amount of 2017. Cal also walked away with a pair of All-Americans in Yordan Aleksandrov and Kyte Crigger in 2018. Aleksandrov, who has since graduated, finished fourth on high bar and Crigger, in his first-ever appearance in the championship, tied for fifth on floor. The nod was notable for Crigger especially, after battling back from a knee earlier in the season.
 
Cal hopes to use some of its road success as momentum as it heads back to the Midwest this weekend. The Bears earned a 405.500, their highest score of the season on the road in Seattle.
 
"We're very excited to be back at the NCAAs. As this is the last meet of the year, I expect the team to lay it all out on the competition floor and to compete without worry or expectations of outcomes and rather focus on performance," said head coach JT Okada, who has taken the Bears to post season in his first two seasons. "They have all worked so hard this year that I want them to enjoy their performance and the experience of competing in a national championship."
 
Friday, the Bears vie for the team's first championship appearance since 2015.  
 
For more information on Cal men's gymnastics, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @CalMGym.