At the 49^th annual Windy City Invitational, UIC showed improvement from its first meet, scoring 357.250.  In the first two rotations, the Flames posted higher scores than a week ago on floor and pommel horse.  Likewise, they closed the meet with better marks on parallel bars and high bar.

"It was another great Windy City Invitational, in front of a great crowd with a lot of energy," head coach Charley Nelson said.  "Coming out of Mixed Pairs, we had a lot of questions on pommels, but now we've had two much better performances there with everyone staying on the horse.  If we can expand that consistency to the rest of the events, we will be right where we want to be."

Illinois won the event for the fifth straight year with 403.150 points, but with first-time participant Washington posting a fifth place score of 370.150, the Flames had another member of the field within their sights.  "It was great to have Washington here for the first time," Nelson said.  "We had the usual lineup of heavy hitters in Champaign, Minnesota, Iowa, and Michigan.  Washington is a little closer to our level.  Our guys saw that they can compete with them, and they will be in our sights in the national rankings.  It will be a good challenge for us to move ahead of them and then take aim at the next team."
 

Before the meet began, senior Wes Diveney was awarded the Edward Saleh Memorial Scholarship, presented annually at Windy City to the Flames senior who best exemplifies academic and athletic excellence.

Rotation 1 – Floor

• Sam Montague scored 13.250 to pace the squad and place 18^th overall.
• Xan Weaver added to his score from week one.  He improved from 10.800 to 12.850 and finished 23^rd.
• Kaleb Booth posted a 12.250, and Matthew Whittington was close behind him with an 11.850.

Rotation 2 – Pommel Horse

• Colin Schwartz had the Flames' best routine on pommels.  His score of 12.200 put him in the thick of the individual results.
• Michael Peluso scored 11.700, and Weaver and Eric Barnd were separated by just a tenth, at 11.550 and 11.450 respectively.
• The team total of 57.950 was 1.300 points higher than their output last week.

Rotation 3 – Still Rings

• Billy Hollis and Diveney led the team.  Each scored 11.300.
• Nick Smiley was just a hair behind them with 11.250.
• Sam Montague's 10.800 helped build the team score.

Rotation 4 – Vault

• Booth turned in a 13.750, matching his team-leading score from last week.  He was 17^th.
• Schwartz was next on the team sheet with 13.000.
• Weaver (12.750) and Smiley (12.650) turned in solid vaults in their home debut.

Rotation 5 – Parallel Bars

• Weaver finished 21^st with his score of 12.650.
• Eric Barnd scored 12.300, making a jump of almost a full point from his score in week one.
• Schwartz was the slimmest of margins behind with a score of 12.250.

Rotation 6 – Horizontal Bar

• Paul Burney led five Flames who all showed personal improvement on the high bar from last week.  He scored a team high 12.250.
• Montague scored 12.000, and Smiley checked in with an 11.900.
• James Marden and James Strevey each scored over 11 as well.

All-Around

• Weaver was the team's highest total scorer with a mark of 70.750.
• Montague, like Weaver, upped his all-around total, posting 69.300.

Up Next

• The Flames will meet up with two Windy City opponents again in their next meet.
• Iowa will host a tri-meet with Minnesota on Saturday, February 2.