The three best ranked teams advanced to the second round.
Another first since then was the defeat of two nationally ranked teams in one season.
The team finished the preliminary matches ranked 13th out of 28 teams.
For months, the American men have insisted they rank among the best gymnastics teams in the world.
The team is currently ranked 119th best team in the world.
We're going to play a nationally ranked team next time we play.
In the first round of the elimination stage, the ten lowest ranked teams played.
After the conclusion of the regular season the six best ranked teams won the right to participate in the playoffs.
It was the first time in eighteen years that Houston entered a game as a nationally ranked team.
He began using computers to rank teams in 1972, adapting his program from a system used for chess players.