Jan. 12, 2002

Chicago, Ill. - The Windy City Invitational annually gathers the best collegiate gymnastics and puts it one place for one night.

The best of the best was on display Saturday evening at the 32nd edition of the Windy City, as Iowa-in somewhat of a surprise-won the team championship. The Hawkeyes' 207.650 winning score was followed by Illinois (207.025), Michigan (206.850), Ohio State (203.325), Minnesota (199.250) and UIC (197.675).

UIC head coach "CJ" Johnson was pleased with the way his squad responded to a couple of key injuries.

Senior stalwart Matt Soucie didn't compete after his first routine on the pommel horse due to a shoulder injury, while Ambrose Jackson didn't suit up because of an injury of his own.

"When you consider the fact that we lost our go-to guy in Soucie and Jackson who is our top high bar man, we competed well," Johnson said. "You'll see that this team as a whole will get a whole lot better."

Freshman standout Neil Faustino displayed his value on the evening, winning the vault competition with a score of 9.350, beating out the eventual all-around champion Kris Zimmerman of Michigan. Faustino finished in 11th place in the all-around standings with a solid score of 48.850.

"I really liked the way our freshmen competed," said Johnson. "They were able to get their noses wet and they responded well."

Matt Musielak added a seventh-place effort on the pommel horse (8.800), while taking 11th on the floor exercise (8.650).

Senior Anthony Cirullo added a sixth-place finish on the vault (9.100) and freshman Keith Kerrigan took eighth (9.050), making that vault trio one to be reckoned with nationally.

"We wanted to come out here and hit our routines and not worry about anything else and we did a pretty good job of that tonight," concluded Johnson.

The men's gymnastics team will return to action on Saturday, January 26, when the Flames pay a visit to William & Mary to take on the host Tribe and the Temple Owls in an ECAC affair.