Men's Gymnastics Signs Three
Matteo Bardana, Brendan Friele, Troy Nuesca Join Bears In Fall '24
BERKELEY California men's gymnastics has announced the signing of three gymnasts to its 2025 squad in all-arounders Matteo Bardana (Oakville Trafalgar High School/Gymnastics Mississauga), Brendan Friele (Advanced Technologies Academy/Gymcats Gymnastics) and Troy Nuesca (Crespi Carnelite High School/Gymnastics Olympica USA).
Bardana, who hails from Oakville, Ontario, already has experience at the highest level as a member of Team Canada, including a stint at the 2023 Junior World Championships and a fourth-place finish on parallel bars at that year's DTB Pokal Cup in Stuttgart, Germany. He reached the Canadian National Championships in both 2022 and 2023, representing Team Ontario after multiple top-two finishes at the Provincial Championships each year. At the 2022 National Championships, he earned four top-five placements, including a win on parallel bars; in 2023, he bolstered his squad to a second-place team finish. Bardana intends to major in bioengineering at Cal with the goal of becoming a surgeon.
"Matteo is an excellent, internationally accomplished gymnast who will bring good experience to the team," head coach J.T. Okada said. "I think he can build upon his great successes and achieve much more both in the NCAA and in elite competitions."
Friele, who comes to Cal from Henderson, Nevada, was named MVP by his club after a successful 2023 season that culminated with an appearance at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, where he competed in the all-around. His most recent stint at the U.S. Gymnastics Development Program National Championships saw him finishing fifth in the all-around with eighth-place scores on pommel horse and horizontal bar, a year after tying for sixth on parallel bars. Friele will major in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at Cal and aim toward a career in software engineering.
"Brendan is a very talented gymnast with exceptional skill," Okada said. "I believe that he will be an immediate contributor on multiple events and I expect him to continue to appear in national competitions."
Nuesca, a native of Thousand Oaks, made the California All-Star Team in both 2021 and 2023 and helped lead Gymnastics Olympica to Club of the Year status each year from 2020-23. He was named Gymnast of the Year and team captain of his club for his final season as a junior gymnast, which saw him place second on rings and sixth on parallel bars at the U.S. Dev National Championships. In 2021, he posted his highest finish at the U.S. Championships, finishing third on rings in his age group. Nuesca will focus his studies on industrial engineering and operations research at Cal.
"Troy will be an immediate contributor with several strong routines, including on parallel bars and horizontal bar," Okada said. "I think he will bring great value to our team next year."
Matteo Bardana, Brendan Friele, Troy Nuesca Join Bears In Fall '24
BERKELEY California men's gymnastics has announced the signing of three gymnasts to its 2025 squad in all-arounders Matteo Bardana (Oakville Trafalgar High School/Gymnastics Mississauga), Brendan Friele (Advanced Technologies Academy/Gymcats Gymnastics) and Troy Nuesca (Crespi Carnelite High School/Gymnastics Olympica USA).
Bardana, who hails from Oakville, Ontario, already has experience at the highest level as a member of Team Canada, including a stint at the 2023 Junior World Championships and a fourth-place finish on parallel bars at that year's DTB Pokal Cup in Stuttgart, Germany. He reached the Canadian National Championships in both 2022 and 2023, representing Team Ontario after multiple top-two finishes at the Provincial Championships each year. At the 2022 National Championships, he earned four top-five placements, including a win on parallel bars; in 2023, he bolstered his squad to a second-place team finish. Bardana intends to major in bioengineering at Cal with the goal of becoming a surgeon.
"Matteo is an excellent, internationally accomplished gymnast who will bring good experience to the team," head coach J.T. Okada said. "I think he can build upon his great successes and achieve much more both in the NCAA and in elite competitions."
Friele, who comes to Cal from Henderson, Nevada, was named MVP by his club after a successful 2023 season that culminated with an appearance at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, where he competed in the all-around. His most recent stint at the U.S. Gymnastics Development Program National Championships saw him finishing fifth in the all-around with eighth-place scores on pommel horse and horizontal bar, a year after tying for sixth on parallel bars. Friele will major in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at Cal and aim toward a career in software engineering.
"Brendan is a very talented gymnast with exceptional skill," Okada said. "I believe that he will be an immediate contributor on multiple events and I expect him to continue to appear in national competitions."
Nuesca, a native of Thousand Oaks, made the California All-Star Team in both 2021 and 2023 and helped lead Gymnastics Olympica to Club of the Year status each year from 2020-23. He was named Gymnast of the Year and team captain of his club for his final season as a junior gymnast, which saw him place second on rings and sixth on parallel bars at the U.S. Dev National Championships. In 2021, he posted his highest finish at the U.S. Championships, finishing third on rings in his age group. Nuesca will focus his studies on industrial engineering and operations research at Cal.
"Troy will be an immediate contributor with several strong routines, including on parallel bars and horizontal bar," Okada said. "I think he will bring great value to our team next year."