OAKLAND — For the fourth straight year, the No. 4 Michigan men’s gymnastics team came away from the Pacific Coast Classic with a familiar, bitter taste in its mouth.

Fourth place.

On Saturday night, Michigan posted its highest score of the season, 354.20, by almost six points. The Wolverines scored season-highs on four of the six events. Sophomore Chris Cameron won the all-around competition (89.75).

But it was only good enough for fourth — again.

“It really doesn’t feel good at all,” said senior co-captain Phil Goldberg, who earned the team’s highest score on rings (14.90). “As we talked about in our circle, it’s better this happened now than at NCAAs. At least we can learn from it.”

The pommel horse, which was supposed to be the team’s “equalizer” this season, proved to be one of Michigan’s toughest of the night, despite the fact that the Wolverines got a season high on the apparatus.

Between the hit routines of leadoff senior Ralph Rosso and anchor Cameron, Michigan absorbed four falls.

“It’s our best event comparatively to everybody else,” Cameron said. “For us to come out here and do that, it’s painful.”

In the three remaining events, the Wolverines had to play catch-up just to claw their way back into fourth ahead of No. 5 Minnesota and No. 6 Illinois, the only other Big Ten teams.

Michigan probably couldn’t have caught the victorious Japanese Collegiate All-Stars (359.45), but for the first time at the Classic, it was within striking distance of No. 2 California (355.35) and No. 3 Stanford (356.90).

“I think it was a positive that we’re only two points behind Stanford and Berkeley and we had a bunch of misses on horse,” Michigan assistant coach Scott Vetere said. “We didn’t hit our vaults, our floor wasn’t very good — even rings wasn’t very good.”

Possibly due to a spate of newly upgraded routines, Vetere thought the Wolverines looked more tentative than usual in their performances. Only high bar, Michigan’s first event, fully lived up to expectations.

Every Wolverine hit his set, putting up solid, if not spectacular, scores. In his second meet of the year, senior Joe Catrambone tied sophomore Thomas Kelley for the team lead on the event with a 14.9. Catrambone hadn’t been able to work out much during the week due to a wrist injury — after sticking his triple backflip dismount, he pumped his fists and clapped.

All seemed to be going according to plan.

But on the floor exercise, Michigan’s momentum began to fade, leaking away in multiple small mistakes that marred each set. Vault and parallel bars, events that should have fostered a late surge, suffered four falls between them to finish the meet.

“I think we need to stop fumbling around with the lineup so much, because I think it messes with people,” Catrambone said. “It gets them a little more nervous. They’re not sure who they’re following, not sure what routine they’re expecting.”

Unsurprisingly, Cameron, who anchored nearly every event, was one of the brightest spots of the night, hitting all his sets, finishing second on parallel bars (15.35) and beating out nine challengers for the all-around title.

“I’m not going to lie — it doesn’t feel nearly as good as Windy City,” Cameron said, referring to Michigan’s season-opening Windy City Invitational victory, where he also won the all-around. “We can’t say we’re good enough to beat these teams, and not beat them. That doesn’t matter. We have to beat these teams.”

The Wolverines now have two weeks off before their Senior Night showdown with No. 6 Illinois — one week of which will be spent in Mexico training at the Mexican National Team’s gym.

In addition to the new surroundings, the weather will be a welcome change from the wintry gloom of Michigan and Northern California.

“I’m sure down in Mexico, with that nice dry heat … we’ll feel like going 100 percent all day long,” Cameron said. “We’ll be doing some of those new skills we want to get in that will help us win. We’re really looking forward to that. And being in the sunlight is just going to be great for the mentality of all the guys.”