STANFORD-In the individual finals of the men's gymnastics NCAA championships, the audience crowded into one corner of Maples Pavilion as Cal senior Tim McNeill walked onto the competition floor.

After a weekend of antagonistic team competition, school loyalties were dimmed by mutual respect for the two-time defending pommel horse champion.

McNeill had won the title for the last two years, but Saturday he was nursing a back injury and entered the postseason ranked second behind Illinois freshman Daniel Ribeiro.

When he took the floor, McNeill needed to score above a 14.550 to take the lead.

He did more than that. McNeill scored a 15.625 to take the individual NCAA title in the pommel horse for the third consecutive year.

"I was actually more nervous this year than I was the previous two years because I'm doing a harder routine," McNeill said.

McNeill boasted one of the highest difficulty-value routines in the world, and earned a mark of 15.625. But there were four more gymnasts yet to compete, including the Illini freshman.

A mistake midway through his routine forced Ribeiro to dismount and he finished sixth in the event. Penn State junior Casey Sandy was the last to compete and came the closest to upsetting McNeill.

But the defending champion finished more than six-tenths of a point ahead of the pack and won the title for the third year in a row.

"(Saturday's) pommel horse routine was the best I think I've ever seen him do," Bears coach Barry Weiner said.

Two consecutive championships is an achievement. Three is a dynasty.

But McNeill's pommel horse trifecta makes up only three of his now-five national crowns.

After standing atop the highest podium and receiving his championship trophy, McNeill walked across the gym and began preparing to defend his parallel bar title.

And the crowd followed.

"I'm really comfortable on the parallel bars," McNeill said. "It's an easy event to compete, unlike the pommel horse where if your arms get a little shaky it can throw the whole routine off. I'm just really comfortable with the routine and I was just trying to use the excitement from my pommel horse routine to carry me through the parallel bar routine."

After a seemingly effortless routine, McNeill stuck his landing with a look of accomplishment and relief.

The senior finished seven-tenths of a point ahead of the competition with a mark of 15.650 and earned his fifth NCAA crown.

"I was just really happy with how I did," McNeill said. "I don't think I could have done any better."

McNeill successfully defended both of his event titles and became the most decorated gymnast in program history.

Although McNeill was Cal's only NCAA champion on the night, he began the competition as one of five Bears vying for All-America honors.

Junior Kyson Bunthuwong and seniors Colin Christ, Kyle Brady and Tyler Block all qualified for the event finals on Friday in Cal's fifth-place team finish.

Block, an All-American on the rings his freshman year, finished ninth in the event and just missed repeating the honor.

The Bears-the top-ranked parallel bars team in the nation-comprised almost half of the event's lineup as Bunthuwong, Christ and Brady joined McNeill in the event.

Christ was Cal's only other All-American on the night, finishing eighth with a score of 14.275 and earning his fourth All-America honors.

Brady and Bunthuwong followed close behind Christ and took ninth and tenth on the parallel bars, respectively.

After a weekend in the national spotlight, the Bears added two more NCAA individual titles to the record books and McNeill's illustrious collegiate career came to a close.

"I was really sad to finish my NCAA career, but at the same time really happy and excited that I finished on such a good note," McNeill said. "I was ecstatic that I'd done so well but sad that it was done."

Tags: NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP