Youth was served at the UIC gymnastics teams' annual Mixed Pairs exhibition Sunday afternoon.  The squad consisting of freshmen Alisa Sheremeta, Tirzah Delph, Nick Smiley, and Billy Hollis, along with sophomores Ashley Albrecht, Colin Schwartz, and Emery Smith, took first place.  The women averaged 9.65 per routine, and the men averaged 12.48, for a meet-high total of 22.13.

Sheremeta had the highest score on beam with a 9.8, and her 9.85 on the floor tied for meet-high honors.  The winning team had men's high scores from Schwartz on floor (12.9), and Smiley's and Schwartz' twin 12.8 scores on parallel bars.

Perhaps most importantly, the outstanding performances from the freshmen combined with the solid scores from returning veterans to produce what would have been the highest team scores in any men's or women's regular season meet last season.  The top five women on each apparatus totaled 195.50, while the best five men's scores across all six events came to 372.900.

"Our guys came ready to perform today," men's head coach Charley Nelson stated.  "Usually mixed pairs is a wake-up call – and for some guys, they saw where they stand and what they need to work on – but there were several encouraging performances that we're looking to carry into the beginning of the season."

"It was great to see the girls perform," agreed women's co-head coach Peter Jansson, "as opposed to just training.  They came out today ready to make a statement and that's what they did."

Freshman Xan Weaver had the highest horizontal bar score (12.7), and posted the men's best all-around number with a 73.00.  Upperclassmen who have led the Flames on the still rings and vault for the last two seasons shone once again, as Satchel Hudson and Asad Jooma were the respective winners.

Senior Miki Northern's 39.15 was the women's best all-around score.  Sophomore Kayla Baddeley picked up where she left off in her Freshman of the Year-winning season, posting a team high 9.85 on vault and tying for top honors on the floor.  Serena Baker, an NCAA Regional qualifier on bars a year ago, was the team's top performer, scoring 9.85.

The gymnasts were grouped into five coed teams by the head coaches based on proficiency on the various apparatuses.  Each team had one man and one woman complete the all-around, with two to three additional gymnasts of each gender competing in their specialties.

The men's squad will begin the regular season at Illinois January 12, and will host the 49^th annual Windy City Invitational at Credit Union 1 Arena January 19.  The women will get started January 4 in a quad meet at Arizona State with Minnesota and Missouri.  Their first home meet will be January 13 at the UIC Dorin Forum.