Oct. 23, 2014
2014-15 Schedule
Printable Schedule
CHICAGO - The UIC men's gymnastics program released its schedule for the 2014-15 season on Thursday, as the squad prepares for its first competition against Illinois on Jan. 9. For the first time in program history, the Flames will compete at the UIC Pavilion for all of their home meets.
The Flames get underway on Jan. 9 against Illinois inside the UIC Pavilion. The competition is the first of four home meets scheduled at the Pavilion. Senior Jason Gaides was UIC's highest scorer on parallel bars (13.200) in the last meeting against Illinois on March 8, 2014.
The Flames host the 45th Annual Windy City Invitational on Jan. 17, as they welcome Big Ten teams Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio State and Iowa. During last year's Windy City Invitational, sophomore Jacob Thurber posted a pair of team-best scores on floor (13.450) and vault (14.500).
The men begin a road stint on Jan. 24 when they travel to Iowa City to compete against Iowa. The last two times the teams competed (Feb. 23, 2014), Gaides collected team best scores on vault (14.550) and the floor exercise (14.250).
UIC make their way to Minneapolis on Feb. 7 to compete against Minnesota. In 2013, senior Brett Valin collected a personal best score on vault (14.90) with a first-place finish.
The Flames travel to Philadelphia, Pa. on Feb. 14, to take on Temple. The last time these two teams met was Feb. 15, 2014, when the Flames edged Temple by a score of 403.550-402.500.
UIC wrap up the month of February in Las Vegas, Nev., as they compete at the Winter Cup Challenge Feb. 19-21 inside the Riviera Hotel and Casino's Royale Pavilion. Last year the Flames sent Joseph Hodges, who competed in all six events and placed 42nd in the preliminaries.
Returning home on March 1, the Flames welcome Air Force to the UIC Pavilion and invite Stanford to Chicago a week later (March 8). During the last meeting with Air Force on Feb. 28, 2014, Valin tied for first-place on the vault (14.550).
The men's gymnastics team closes out regular season competition at Michigan on March 21, before traveling to West Point, N.Y. to participate in the 2015 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships from March 27-28. Last year, the Flames finished in the top six in four events during individual competition at the 2014 ECAC Championships.
The 2015 NCAA Championships are scheduled to take place in Norman, Okla. from April 9-12. Gaides and Valin represented UIC at the 2014 NCAA Championships as Gaides scored 12.600 on the parallel bars while teammate Valin fell just short of the qualifying rounds with a 14.600 on vault.
