FINAL RESULTS
CHICAGO - The UIC women's gymnastics team opened up its season with a loss (189.575-192.250) to Mid-American Conference-member Northern Illinois Friday evening in its inaugural meet at the UIC Pavilion. Senior captain Gabrielle May took home first place in all-around competition with a score of 38.050.

The Flames started the night with a solid performance on vault, where redshirt senior Kimberly Randall landed in a three-way tie for first place with a final score of 9.725. May was the next finisher for UIC, placing fifth with a 9.625.

"I think we got off to a good start," head coach Peter Jansson said. "We didn't have all the competitors on vault that we needed due to some injuries, but everybody did what they were supposed to do on vault. We also had a really good bars section, and we pulled into the lead which was great."

UIC had its best showing of the night on the uneven bars, besting the Huskies in the event by a margin of 48.675-47.125. Sophomore Nicole Szabo paced the Flames with a first-place finish (9.775). Randall took third, earning a 9.750 in the event.

Sophomore Emily DeCesare tied teammate Citlali Cuevas as the top beam finisher with a 9.675, while May earned the top spot for UIC on floor with a 9.675.

Sophomore Nikki Woodruff finished behind May in all-around competition with a 38.025 followed by Cuevas in third with a 37.650.

"We know where we are right now," Jansson said. "What we did on bars is what we are capable of on all four events. We know what we have to do and what we have to build on. We had a tough week, losing two kids to injuries in one week is hard, so we will do a little work and see where we go from there."

The Flames will hit the road next week for their first away meet of the season on Jan. 16, a quad meet at Arizona with Sacramento State and Wisconsin-Stout. Action is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. CT. at the Mary Roby Gymnastics Training Center in Tucson, Ariz.