Dec. 22, 2004
Chicago, Ill.- It's still a few weeks away, but the start of the men's gymnastics season is getting closer by the day, and that means for the 35th consecutive year the University of Illinois at Chicago will set the stage for the sport's national scene.
UIC proudly hosts the annual Windy City Invitational men's gymnastics season opener at the UIC Physical Education Building on Saturday, January 8th at 7 p.m.
The Flames, ranked 11th nationally in the GymInfo Preseason Coaches Poll, are fresh off their first-ever Eastern College Athletic Conference title this past March. UIC features senior captains Mike Galfi and returning All-American Neil Faustino, along with ECAC all-around champion Eric Novick.
UIC will face off with familiar Windy City Invitational opponents. The Big Ten's finest will be in action as No. 2 Illinois, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Iowa and No. 9 Minnesota will journey to Chicago to battle for early-season bragging rights.
Last season, then-top-ranked Ohio State captured the Windy City team crown with a 215.750 to edge out the Fighting Illini. The Buckeye's Randy Monahan won the all-around title with a 54.150.
It was a banner performance for the Flames at last year's Windy City Invitational, as UIC chalked up a victory over the Golden Gophers.
The event will feature the top coaches in the sport, including NCAA East Region Coach of the Year "CJ" Johnson of UIC and NCAA Central Region Coach of the Year Yoshi Hayasaki of Illinois. Ohio State head coach Miles Avery, the coach of Olympic all-around gold medalist Paul Hamm, will lead the Buckeyes, while veterans mentors Tom Dunn of Iowa and Kurt Golder of Michigan bring in their squads. First-year head coach Mike Burns of Minnesota will head the Gophers after his tenure as an assistant with the Wolverines.
11 All-Americans from the 2004 season will be in action at the Windy City Invitational.
Tickets for this annual spectacular can be purchased at the door right before the event. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 years old and under.
