Jan. 13, 2001

UIC men's gymnastics coach CJ Johnson saw his squad face off with some of the best teams in the nation at the 31st annual Windy City Invitational at the Physical Education Building on Saturday. The competition included seven of the top 14 teams in the nation.

"I am not making any excuses but we were on a field with the nation's best on Saturday night," Johnson said. "We do have some incredible freshman gymnasts that are being counted on heavily. We have the ability to improve all season and it is our goal to do just that."

Although the Flames did not come out on top, many were witness to some outstanding gymnastics as Michigan (207.55) edged Illinois (207.20) for the team title. UIC placed seventh in the meet with a score of 196.25.

The all-around standings were equally as tight as Illinois' Leo Oka (51.25) held off teammate Linh Hoang (51.05) for the title.

The top performers for the Flames include senior Anthony Cirullo (8.800, floor exercise), freshman Matt Musielak (8.250, pommel horse, 8.300, parallel bars), senior Dave Johnson (8.700, still rings), junior Matthew Soucie (9.100, vault) and junior Frankie Pretzel (8.200, horizontal bar).

Final Team Results                     All-Around
1.	Michigan 	207.55         1. Leo Oka		51.25	Illinois
2.	Illinois	207.20         2. Linh Hoang		51.05	Illinois
3. 	Ohio State	205.40         3. Clay Strother	        50.80	Minnesota
4. 	Iowa		205.15         4. Jon Plante		50.55	Michigan St.
5.	Minnesota	202.25         5. Raj Bhavsar		50.35	Ohio St.
6. 	Michigan St. 	201.35         6. Andy Thornton	        50.30	Iowa
7. 	UIC		196.25

Floor Exercise                                Pommel Horse
1. Jamie Natalie	9.05	Ohio St.      1. Jon Plante		9.35	Michigan St.
2. Kevin Roulston	8.95	Michigan      2. Tim Dehr		9.20	Michigan
3. Clay Strother	8.90	Minnesota     3. Tony Cesar		8.95	Iowa
   Brad Golden	        8.90	Michigan St.  4. Dan Diaz-Luong	        8.85	Michigan
5. Kris Zimmerman	8.85	Michigan      5. Kevin Roulston 	8.75	Michigan
6. Anthony Cirullo	8.80	UIC              Jamey Houle	        8.75	Ohio St.
                                             16. Matt Musielak	        8.25	UIC

Still Rings                                      Vault
1. Scott Vetere		9.15	Michigan         1. Linh Hoang		9.35	Illinois
   Daren Lynch	        9.15	Ohio St.         2. Earnest Nelson	9.20	Ohio St.
3. Brad Kenna		9.00	Michigan         3. Leo Oka		9.15	Illinois
4. Linh Hoang		8.90	Illinois         4. Matthew Soucie	9.10	UIC
5. Brian Christie	8.85	Iowa                Bob Goss		9.10	Minnesota
   M. Chiappetta	8.85	Michigan St.        Clay Strother	9.10	Minnesota
8. Dave Johnson	        8.70	UIC

Parallel Bars                                   Horizontal Bar
1. Tim Dehr		8.80	Michigan        1. Tony Cesar		8.90	Iowa
2. Scott Vetere		8.75	Michigan           Justin Conner	8.90    Minnesota
3. Linh Hoang		8.65	Illinois           Greg Cook		8.90	Illinois
4. Jamie Natalie	8.60	Ohio St.        4. Matt Metzger	        8.85	Iowa
5. Justin Conner	8.45	Minnesota       5. Scott Vetere		8.80	Michigan
   Raj Bhavsar		8.45	Ohio St.           Raj Bhavsar		8.80	Ohio St.
13. Matt Musielak	8.30	UIC                S. Wetterling	8.80    Illinois
                                                   Leo Oka		8.80	Illinois
                                               21. Frankie Pretzel 	8.20	UIC