Dec. 10, 2006
Chicago, Ill.- The UIC men's and women's gymnastics teams gave Flames fans a glimpse of things to come in 2007 at the annual Mixed Pairs exhibition meet at the Physical Education Building on Sunday afternoon.
In the fun-filled five-team competition comprised of squads intermingled with members of the men's and women's teams, both UIC programs showed off exciting displays from veteran performers and fresh faces.
The team of Jessie Jaworowicz, Ashley Thurston, Andy Battad, Brandon Rhame, Bobby Solomon, Ben Sinor, Scott Durso and Bill Behnke came out on top with the meet's winning total.
For the men's squad, Tim Morrison looked like his usual reliable self at Mixed Pairs. Morrison's 9.0 on high bar highlighted a nice all-around day for the senior co-captain.
Freshman Andrew Stover, fresh off his trip to the U.S. Junior National Team Camp a few weeks ago, led all men's all-arounders with a final tally of 48.60. Stover's highlights included a 9.0 on parallel bars.
Fellow first-year phenom Ben Sinor and sophomore Anthony May also excelled in the all-around for "CJ" Johnson's crew.
Jaworowicz was outstanding with an all-around tally of 38.20. Sophomore Annie Kachman led all all-arounders on the women's side with a 38.35, showing no ill effects from the leg injury that sidelined her during much of last season.
Strong beam routines from Rachael Zelinski and Sarah Jane Mayhan, stellar showings on bars by Thurston and Kristen Kulinczenko and a great vault by Jessica Panos highlighted the afternoon for the ladies.
Rookies Justine Jaworowicz, Justine Weyer and Christine Girard made well-rounded debuts for the Flames. All three performed well, particularly on vault.
The day's events were capped off superbly by a glowing floor exercise performance by sophomore Beth Kliver.
The UIC men's gymnastics team opens the 2007 campaign on January 13th with the 37th annual Windy City Invitational at the Physical Education Building. The UIC women's gymnastics team will open the year on the road that same day against Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
