Jan. 15, 2006
2006 Windy City Invitational Results in PDF Format
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Chicago, Ill.- The University of Illinois at Chicago men's gymnastics team proved that it can hang with the nation's finest on Saturday night, as senior Nick Stavros picked up a pommel horse victory amidst a field of some of the sport's best performers to lead the Flames at the 36th annual Windy City Invitational.
Stavros showed why he is arguably the best pommel horse showman in the country today. The fourth-year star came out firing on all cylinders during his pommel routine, moving with ease and showing off his unmatched arm strength to pick up a 9.550 for the victory. He was the only competitor to receive a score above 9.0.
Stavros also notched a second-place showing in the rings rankings with a 9.050, narrowly behind Ohio State's Jake Bateman (9.100).
In front of 1, 284 fans at the UIC Physical Education Building, the Flames were right in the thick of things after four rotations against No. 2 Illinois, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 6 Michigan, No. 8 Minnesota and No. 9 Iowa. But some rough performances during their final two events, parallel bars and high bar, relegated the Flames to the sixth spot in the final rankings with a score of 197.350.
UIC was able to stay competitive in the team rankings even without the injured Eric Novick, the two-time defending Eastern College Athletic Conference all-around champion.
The Buckeyes won the Windy City Invitational with a tally of 211.650. They were followed closely by runner-up Illinois, as the Fighting Illini turned in a 210.500 after a meet-best vault showing of 36.650 in the final rotation.
Michigan placed third with a 207.400, followed by Iowa (205.800) and Minnesota (203.900).
The Windy City Invitational marked the debut of the new scoring rules instituted this season by the NCAA. They definitely had a major impact on Saturday, as the 211.650 posted by Ohio State was more than 10 points less than the 221.800 that Illinois posted as the winner of last year's Windy City meet.
UIC Head Coach "CJ" Johnson discovered plenty of positives about his young team on Saturday. Johnson's lineup featured five true freshmen.
"My concern going in was that I didn't know what we had," said Johnson. "For the first four events, we were equal to many of the Big Ten teams here."
Junior Tim Morrison led UIC in the all-around, placing an impressive sixth amidst a bevy of the nation's top gymnasts with a 48.200. Iowa's Michael Reavis won the Windy City all-around with a 53.050.
Sophomore Brad Trompeter was right there with Stavros in the rings rankings, posting a 9.050.
Andrew Krueger showed why he is the defending ECAC champion on floor exercise, posting a 9.300 to take fourth overall.
Jeff White looked sharp on rings as well for UIC, turning in an 8.600 to place 11th.
While Johnson was not pleased by his team's showing on parallel bars and high bar, he has a good feeling about where his Flames are headed in 2006.
"I really feel strongly about this team, that they're going to do something this year," said Johnson. "I'm very excited about this team, and I'm very proud of what they did out there today. It was definitely a learning experience for many of them.
"Hopefully they got a good feeling of what college gymnastics is all about."
UIC resumes action at home with a dual meet against Iowa at the UIC Physical Education Building beginning at 7:00 p.m.
