CHICAGO - The men's gymnastics team will travel to Minneapolis on Saturday where the Flames will take on visiting No. 9 Nebraska and host No. 10 Minnesota. The meet will be held at the Sports Pavilion with the first event set to start at 7 p.m. CT.

The Flames previously met with Minnesota at the Windy City Invitational on Jan. 17, falling to the Gophers 410.350-388.400.

"I will be watching to see how Brett Valin's vault continues to stack up in head to head competition," said head coach Charley Nelson. "Jason Gaides is capable of walking out of the Minnesota Sports Pavilion with another all-around title."

Through three competitions, seniors Jason Gaides and Brett Valin lead UIC with top scores in their respective events. Gaides controls floor (14.150), pommel horse (13.850) and high bar (13.900), while Valin has a hold of vault (15.00), rings (14.350) and parallel bars (14.600).

"The off week gave the team a chance to take a breath and focus on some of our consistent errors," said Nelson. "What I have seen since returning from Iowa has been great. The goal is to add two-tenths to all routines. If we hit that goal, it means six team points and a much tighter competition between two very good teams."

After an off week for the Flames, Gaides enters this weekend nationally ranked holding the No. 9 spot with an average all-around score of 81.900.

The Cornhuskers own a No. 9 ranking and a team average of 419.983. Meanwhile, Minnesota has the No. 10 spot with a team average of 418.417 and the Flames sit 14th with an average of 392.383.

"We will be looking at this fourth straight competition against Big Ten competition as something of a launching pad for our trip to Philadelphia the following week," said Nelson. "These guys have been working hard and are ready to make a statement to their ECAC foes."

Be sure to check back to UICFlames.com for full results and a recap of this weekend's meet in Minnesota.