CHICAGO- The UIC men's gymnastics team hosted Air Force Sunday afternoon inside the UIC Pavilion. The Flames notched a total score of 371.700, falling to the Falcons' total of 378.800. Seniors Christopher Avvisati, Alex Dumstorf, Keith Kohn, Casey Mahoney-Muno, Christopher Patton, Christopher Root and Jacob Thurber, were honored in a ceremony following the meet, where Thurber was presented with the Gunnells award. 

"What a great day," said head coach Charley Nelson, "we were a few men down… so a lot of our upper classmen leadership was not at full strength today. The freshmen had to step up and take the lead which they did, they really did very well."

UIC bested Air Force on pommel horse and parallel bars, totaling a 59.900 on pommels to the Falcons' score of 58.950. The Flames earned a 62.800 on parallel bars which shone over Air Force's 61.400 total. 

Kohn was victorious on the rings after scoring a 13.200, followed by sophomore Steen Haugsted who claimed third place with a 12.900. Haugsted took first place on parallel bars after tallying a 13.600; Root tied for second on the event with Air Force's Jon Fornoff with their score of 13.300. 

Root led the Flames on pommel horse (12.700), high bar (12.750) and floor (12.600), where he tied with freshman Satchel Hudson for a fourth place finish. Root's scores on rings (11.400), vault (13.200) and parallel bars (13.300) allowed him to total an all-around score of 75.950, a season best for the senior Flame. 

Freshman Victor Bello tied for first place on vault, with Christian Klaustian of Air Force, after landing a 14.150. Haugsted claimed the top spot on parallel bars with his final score of 13.600, while freshman Tyler Ball earned a personal best on the event after notching a 12.300. 

"Lots of work left to do," said Nelson, "but that's the nature of the sport."

The Flames will prepare for pair of road matches before returning to the Pavilion to host the 2017 ECAC Championships on April 8. UIC travels to Minneapolis, Minn.  next Saturday (March 18) to face (No. 6) the Minnesota Gophers inside the Sports Pavilion.