Jan. 27, 2002

Williamsburg, Virg. - The University of Illinois at Chicago men's gymnastics team took their talent on the road, as they traveled to the College of William & Mary to tangle with the host Tribe and the Temple Owls.

The Flames came out on the short end of the scoring stick in Virginia, finishing third with a score of 201.925. The Tribe won the competition with an impressive score of 205.55, while the Owls finished second with 204.225 points.

Freshman Neil Faustino is making a claim as one of the finest freshman in the nation, as he took the vault title with a score of 9.40. The Stockton, California native finished fourth in the all-around competition (48.70), as he counted a sub-par 6.050 score on the pommel horse.

Senior stalwart Matthew Soucie competed in only one event due to injury, but he made the most of it, tying for the win on the pommel horse with an 8.80 tally.

Freshman Tommy Kosanda and senior Anthony Cirullo each grabbed third-place finishes on the evening. Kosanda's 8.80 effort on the floor exercise put him in third, while Cirullo scored a 9.225 on vault for his third-place finish.

Keith Kerrigan also strung together some good routines for the Flames, as the freshman finished seventh on floor (8.700), sixth on vault (8.950) and fifth on the parallel bars (8.500).

The Flames will hit the apparatuses again on Saturday, Feb.2, when the defending NCAA Champion Ohio State Buckeyes invade the UIC Physical Education Building. Competition begins at 7:00 PM.