UIC finished second at the New England Championships, contested Sunday afternoon in Springfield, Mass.  The host Springfield College squad, an ECAC rival, won the event, scoring 390.700.  An undermanned Flames squad scored 368.550 points to outpace Temple.

"We knew it was going to be an uphill battle today," head coach Charley Nelson said.  "Five of our top scorers are out this week with injuries and Springfield looked good today.  What we really came away with was an opportunity to work hard and get some revenge when we see them again at the conference championship." 

Rotation 1 – Floor

• AJ Hardin and Satchel Hudson each scored 13.200 to pace the Flames.  It was a season high for both.  They tied for fourth place overall.
• It was one of two season highs for Hardin on the day.  "AJ had a really good day and his performance was a great example of the strides this young team is making week after week," Nelson said.
• Asad Jooma posted a 12.400.
• Freshman Matthew Whittington improved on his debut score last week with a 12.900.

Rotation 2 – Horse

• Colin Schwartz put up a season high 13.050, besting his previous high score by nearly 0.7.  He finished third in the meet.
• Victor Bello tied his season high, scoring 11.800.
• Satchel Hudson was the Flames' next highest scorer with 10.750.

Rotation 3 – Rings

• Hudson's 13.150 was a new career high and good for third place.
• Wes Diveney and Michael Peluso also delivered strong performances with a 12.650 and 12.600 respectively.
• Bello set a career high with 12.250 points.
• Jooma competed on rings for the first time in his career and posted an 11.450.

Rotation 4 – Vault

• Jooma came through with a 14.350, tying his career high mark from last week and taking first place.
• Bello set a new season high and tied for third with 14.000.
• Colby Lawson's 13.500 and Schwartz' 13.050 also contributed to the Flames' strong team score.

Rotation 5 – Parallel Bars

• Schwartz led off with a 12.400, which stood up as the team's highest score.
• Jooma, Bello, Diveney, and Hudson all scored over 11 points. 
• In another season debut, Diveney competed on bars for the first time.  "We got an opportunity to see the depth of our team" by virtue of the injured gymnasts, Nelson noted.  "Several guys were asked to contribute in new places."
• Nelson continued, "Sam Forbes jumped in to replace Colby Lawson on parallel bars and James Strevey was able to make his NCAA debut [on pommel horse].  Both of them will be big factors in UIC's future."

Rotation 6 – High Bar

• Hardin's 12.500 was a season high and led five tightly bunched Flames.
• Peluso with 12.300, James Marden and Jooma with 12.200 each, and Hudson at 12.100, all set season highs as well.

All-Around

• Hudson paced the Flames' all-arounders by totaling 73.400.  He was third overall.
• Jooma, competing in the all-around for the first time this year, scored 72.450.
• Bello set a season high with a final score of 72.050.

Up Next

• After a week off, the Flames will return to UIC Pavilion for their final home meet of the year.
• UIC will host Minnesota on March 4 in a meet held simultaneously with a women's meet.
• The Flames' lone senior, Pratik Patel, will be honored at the last home meet of his career.