March 10, 2002

Chicago, Ill. - Following a pair of mediocre scores in its last two meets, the University of Illinois at Chicago women's gymnastics team came out on Sunday and fired all on all cylinders recording a season-high score against Northern Illinois, beating the Huskies 194.975-193.250 in DeKalb.

The all-around performance of senior Sara Casica led the way for UIC, as she scored 39.025 points en route to the all-around title. Casica won the floor exercise competition with a superb 9.900 routine, while finishing second on beam to teammate Amy August with a score of 9.875.

August had a great day herself with a winning score of 9.900 on beam, followed by a win on vault 9.900, tying the school record on that apparatus for the second time this year.

On floor, the Flames took the top three spots, including Casica, followed by Jamie Grabowski in second (9.875) and Nadia Ori in third (9.850).

The Flames have experienced trouble all season on beam, but came alive on Sunday taking the top four spots.

August and Casica went one-two, followed by Grabowski (9.800) and Stacey Magiera (9.775).

Jennifer O'Neil added a nice routine on bars, taking second with a score of 9.850.

Senior Erica Varner added a third-place effort on vault, scoring a 9.725.

The Flames will now head to the Illinois Classic on Saturday in Normal, trying to defend their state championship from a year ago. Competition begins at 7:00 PM at Illinois State University.