UIC's men's gymnastics team will open its 2018 season by hosting the 48th annual Windy City Invitational on Navy Pier Saturday night.  Though the team's usual home is the UIC Pavilion, Navy Pier holds a special place in the program's history.  It was the site of UIC's first campus, it housed the gym where the program was started in 1947, and it was the site of the first Windy City Invitational 48 years ago!

Today, Navy Pier is known as one of Chicago's most popular tourist destinations.  Its signature Ferris wheel, plentiful shopping and dining options, and views of the city skyline attract some nine million visitors each year.  But the pier's history includes several diverse chapters, including the genesis of UIC.
 
After being used as a training ground for the U.S. Navy during World War II, Navy Pier became a hub for the Chicago Police Department and several military detachments.  The University of Illinois, seeing a massive increase in enrollment due to veterans taking advantage of the GI Bill, needed to expand and looked toward Chicago to establish a satellite campus.  The University transformed parts of Navy Pier into classrooms, a library, and a gymnasium.  Students matriculated to Navy Pier for two years, and could move to the Urbana-Champaign campus to complete their degrees.
 
 
Chicago proved to be a perfect location for a college campus.  Demand for higher education remained high through the wave of GIs and into the 50's and 60's.  Enrollment at Navy Pier remained stable, and extracurricular teams were quickly established.  The college formed a men's gymnastics team in 1947.  The Chi-Illini, as they were then known, went undefeated in each of their first two seasons and finished above .500 every year but one while based at Navy Pier.
 
The 1948 Navy Pier team was coached by Dr. Hal Frey.  Dr. Frey also coached the UIC soccer team from its inception before taking the head coaching position at UC-Berkeley.  At Berkeley Dr. Frey let the Golden Bears to two NCAA Division I titles.  February 7, 1948 was the first ever UIC Gymnastics competiton (a win over Nebraska) and March 5 marked the first ever home competition for UIC at Navy Pier.
 
UIC would go on to win two Division II national championships and boast several All-Americans, and the seeds for that success were sown on the Pier.  Bill Roetzheim was an original member of the gymnastics team, and, after completing his two years at the Pier, he would go on to be an NCAA champion and 1948 Olympian.  Irving "Irv" Bedard was a member of the team in '48 and after his two years at Navy Pier he became a multiple NCAA champion at Illinois' Urbana-Champaign campus.
 
The lakeside campus, dubbed "Harvard on the rocks," was the university's home until 1965, when it moved to its present location just west of downtown and became a four-year, degree granting institution.  The men's gymnastics program has operated continuously since its inception at Navy Pier, and along with men's basketball, is UIC's longest-running sport.
 

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The Windy City Invitational will be contested for the 48^th time Saturday evening, with UIC, Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota vying for the team title.  The Fighting Illini are the defending champions.  UIC's sophomore class, competing in their first collegiate meet as freshmen last year, posted the team's high scores on the vault.  Satchel Hudson and Dalai Jamiyankhuu tied for the team lead, each posting a score of 13.200.  Junior Wes Diveney competed on the rings and the vault and recorded UIC's second-highest score on both.

Immediately before the meet, UIC will present the Edward J. Saleh Award.  Named in honor of Edward Saleh, a former UIC gymnast who died in a motorcycle accident, the annual award and scholarship grant is presented to a Flames gymnast who best exemplifies academic and athletic excellence.  Edward's brother Rich will be on hand to present the award.
 
The Windy City Invitational kicks off the team's 2018 schedule, which features two home meets at UIC Pavilion, competition against seven of last season's final Top 10 teams, and the ECAC Championships on April 7.  UIC will host the NCAA Championships at UIC Pavilion April 19-21.