McNeill Leads Outgoing Class of Eight Seniors

In his last collegiate press conference, senior Tim McNeill expressed the emotions of leaving the program that has honed his talent over the last four years and helped him to five men's gymnastics NCAA event titles.

"I'm happy with how my career has progressed and that I've done well, but sad that it's done," McNeill said.

Coach Barry Weiner chimed in: "Me too."

Any coach would miss an athlete who can lay claim to five NCAA championships, and while McNeill had an exceptional career with the Cal men's gymnastics team, his situation is not so unique.

This past weekend, the NCAA championships concluded the collegiate season and marked the last college competition for eight of the nine Bears seniors-excluding Kyle Brady, who plans on attending the UC Berkeley School of Law and competing with Cal in his final year of eligibility.

The Bears will lose almost half of their roster-preempting a shake-up for next year's lineup.

Next season will require a great transformation without the senior-heavy roster; however, Cal became accustomed to change during this season of constant adjustment.

The team started the season ranked third in the nation but riddled with injury, and struggled to fill holes in the lineup.

"Depth is always a problem for us and for other low-budget teams, but we have a lot of walk-ons that compete on our team and we coach them up and have them compete," Weiner said.

Despite winning the first meet of the season against Stanford, McNeill was four events short of competing in the all-around and sophomore Bryan del Castillo was no nowhere in the lineup.

At the start of the season, Weiner cited del Castillo as a key member of the team on multiple events, but nagging injuries prevented him from ever competing this season.

The constant training and high-caliber meets left little time to nurse wounds, and by the NCAA championships, McNeill was again struggling with injury.

The two-time defending pommel horse champion did not let it affect him in the individual competition, but was unable to compete in the qualifying round of the team championships.

Other members filled the lineup and the Bears moved onto the finals before finishing fifth overall. But it still wasn't a national title, a disheartening finish for the team that was ranked third at the beginning of the season.

"I think they were prepared and deserved to do a better job," Weiner said after the NCAA team finals. "I feel disappointed for the team. Overall, I'm disappointed. They work hard. They're a great group. The team did everything I asked of them all year long."

Although the graduating seniors will leave having never won an NCAA title, there were smaller victories and individual improvements along the way.

A team that began the season competing only four or five gymnasts on an event persevered through injury to earn victories over the top-ranked Cardinal and defending national champion Penn State.

"We take pride in paying attention to detail and being straight and mechanically sound and we haven't always been the most consistent team," Weiner said. "But if we get it all together with the artistry and add consistency then we can threaten the powerhouses."

Freshman Kyle Bunthuwong broke onto the collegiate stage in the first contest of the season and became a constant competitor-pacing the Bears in two events in the qualifying session of the NCAA championships. His brother, junior Kyson Bunthuwong, regularly competed in the all around and continued to be the backbone of the team.

Added to the duo of brothers, freshman Eric Haeussler and juniors Evan Roth and Justin Franklin also grew to be key contributors.

All of these gymnasts will return to next year's lineup, though Cal will still need a deep recruiting class. Their return, along with the return of del Castillo may lessen the loss of eight veterans.

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