Jan. 12, 2011
CHICAGO - The pursuit for a third-consecutive conference title starts this Saturday for the UIC men's gymnastics team when the Flames begin competition in 2011 with some of the toughest opposition in the country.
Now in its 41st year, the Windy City Invitational will commence at 7 p.m. on Saturday, January 15 at the Physical Education Building. Tickets will be available at the door for $10.
After serving as an assistant to the program for over a decade, UIC alum Charley Nelson was named head coach on August 12, 2010. Nelson took on the challenge when the 36-year career of "CJ" Johnson came to a close upon his retirement in August of last year.
The leader of the Flames expects the season opener to live up to annual expectations as not only the largest but the oldest men's gymnastics event in the nation. "Find a seat and get loud," said Nelson. "We always get a capacity crowd for this event.
"These teams this weekend will be at the top of the NCAA come springtime," said Nelson, as defending team champion Michigan, along with perennial contender Illinois account for a third of the teams in attendance. Ohio State, Minnesota and Iowa round out the six-team competition to open the Flames season.
The 2011 squad features a solid blend of veteran leadership and hungry newcomers, a perfect combination to put the Flames in position to defend their ECAC crown.
While the loss of NCAA-experienced veterans Nikolai Korepanov, Nick Persino and All-American Andrew Stover to graduation may be a difficult task to surmount, UIC returnees include the likes of David Ishida, who advanced to the parallel bars finals as a freshman, fellow sophomore Kyle Voissem, the 2010 ECAC Rookie of the Year, a two-time ECAC champion on the pommel horse.
Freshman Lukasz Adamczyk, Joseph Hodges, Jacob Mager and Lance Ridnoure will join the Flames this season, looking to earn their place in the lineup during the 2011 campaign.
Seniors Mohr and Ned Kamimura have been chosen as team captains for the upcoming campaign, which starts with the Windy City and continue on with consistently tough competition week after week.
"Were excited for the balance of our schedule this season," said Nelson. "We have some nice home competition paired with some challenges on the road."
The Flames go out on the road for three-straight weekends after the Windy City, heading to Iowa, followed by a triad meet with Nebraska and Oklahoma and finally closing out the road trips with a meet at Michigan on Feb 19.
UIC will then play host to Minnesota on Feb. 27 prior to a big weekend in the beginning of March.
Friday, March 4 sees the Flames welcome Air Force, Illinois and Stanford to the PEB for a 7 p.m. match-up . Less than 48 hours later, UIC hosts their final regular-season meet of the year by welcoming in Air Force, Temple and Ohio State for a 1 p.m. bout.
The Flames return to the road in preparation of their title defense, traveling east to William and Mary on March 19 and returning closer to home with a tangle down in Champaign with Illinois on March 26.
The ECAC Championships, hosted by UIC for the first time since 2004, will look to give the Flames a leg-up in the pursuit of their third-consecutive ECAC crown from the comfort of the PEB. Team and All-Around finals will take place on April 2 at 2 p.m. and the individual event finals will take place the following day, April 3 at 1 p.m.
A team victory at the championships would give the squad the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA championships, hosted by Ohio State on April 14-16.
