Dec. 8, 2003

Ha Noi, Vietnam- University of Illinois at Chicago junior all-around gymnast Neil Faustino wrapped up an outstanding week at the 22nd Southeast Asian Games with a gold medal performance on rings Sunday at the Quan Ngua Sports Center in Ha Noi, Vietnam.

With a final score of 9.412, Faustino earned a first-place tie with Minh Tuan Nguyen of Vietnam on the rings to grab a share of the gold in the event.

Besides conquering the rings, Faustino placed fourth in the all-around with a score of 51.200, just .176 away from snaring bronze.

Faustino competed for the Phillippines National Team and helped the squad take third place overall. A native of Stockton, Calif., Faustino earned dual citizenship to take part in the competition, his first international meet.

Faustino will return to the United States on Wednesday and will rejoin his Flames teammates for collegiate competition on Saturday, January 10 for the Windy City Invitational hosted by UIC at the UIC Physical Education Building at 7 p.m.