Nov. 15, 2000

University of Illinois at Chicago men's gymnastics coach "CJ" Johnson and Neil Faustino (Stockton, Calif./Lincoln) kind of stumbled upon each other, but the chance meeting has now turned into a long-term relationship.

Faustino, a first-team Academic All-American signed a National Letter of Intent to compete for the Flames' gymnastics team in 2002.

"His father was actually was the one that did the research (on UIC) and realized what kind of an engineering program we have," Johnson said. "He was selecting a college on what kind of engineering program they had, and after that, his selection would be predicated on who had gymnastics. We filled the bill."

Faustino, a Class I gymnast at the elite level, adapted to Johnson and his squad almost immediately during his visit.

"He came here and liked what he saw," Johnson said. "We hit it off right away. He and the guys on the team, fit really well together. They were all excited about each other."

Johnson can also thank women's gymnast Cheryl Rubinger for helping point Faustino in the right direction.

"He grew up with Cheryl and I guess that their parents are pretty close," Johnson said. "We looked as his videos as we typically do and felt he has the skills collegiately that could help this program.