COLUMBUS, Ohio- The UIC men's gymnastics team concluded its first dual meet of the season against Ohio State Friday evening inside St. John's Arena. The Flames improved their team score by more than 20 points from last weekend earning a total of 381.500 points; the Buckeyes finished the night with 412.150.

"What a difference a few days makes," said head coach Charley Nelson. "The youth movement took a big step forward tonight against a really tough opponent."

Senior Christopher Root led the way for the Flames posting team high scores on the parallel bars (13.300) and on high bar (13.700). Root tallied a 13.450 on rings, scoring half a tenth less than sophomore Wes Diveney who was a team best on the event with a 13.500. On floor, senior Alexander Dumstorf posted a team high of 13.400 landing him in third place overall.

The freshmen, once again, stepped up to the challenge and posted competitive scores on all six events. Freshman Michael Peluso notched a team high on pommel horse with a 12.800 followed by senior Keith Kohn's 12.650. 

On vault, freshman Asad Jooma's score of 13.800 earned him third place on the event after tying with Ohio State's Michael Chan.  Fellow freshman Basil Szechinski hit all three of his events finishing second best for the Flames on floor with a 12.950, vault with a 13.550 and lastly on high bar with a total of 12.500. 

"We had a goal of fewer falls and more stuck dismounts and we hit that," said Nelson. "We're going to switch some things around for Sunday…but I'm looking for a similar result."

The Flames are back on the road as they head to Iowa City, Iowa to face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday afternoon inside the Carver-Hawkeye Arena at 1 PM CT.