Jan. 26, 2002

Muncie, Ind. - The University of Illinois at Chicago women's gymnastics team had been on the cusp of breaking out and making it known throughout the NCAA South-Central Region that the Flames are for real.

But a few falls here and a few mistakes there cost the Flames in their first two outings of the season.

But Friday night, everything began to mesh together at Ball State's Cardinal Classic, as the Flames finished second overall and won three of the four individual event titles, on their way to a score of 192.225.

Bowling Green won the title with a score of 192.700. UIC was followed by last weekend's nemesis Ball State (191.625), the ACC's Tar Heels of North Carolina (190.550), Wisconsin-River Falls (179.175) and Wisconsin-Eau Claire (173.875).

Atlin Mitchell was victorious on the vault, with a score of 9.850, which was also a career-high for the Canada native. Fellow Canadian Jennifer O'Neil, Kimberly Sommer and Erica Varner also vaulted well, tying for 12th-place with solid scores of 9.650.

Amy August won the uneven bars title, scoring a 9.850, edging teammate Jaclyn Messerges and two other competitors who scored 9.825. O'Neil and Sommer added fifth-place finishes on the bars, tying at 9.800.

Senior all-arounder Sara Casica got back to her winning ways Friday night, winning the beam competition with a score of 9.775. Sommer added a third-place finish to her exemplary evening, scoring a 9.700 on beam.

Casica finished as the runner-up in the all-around competition with a tally of 38.450, as Bowling Green's Marny Oestreng was the victor with her score of 39.100.

Nadia Ori also had a good showing in Muncie for the Flames, finishing eighth on beam (9.550) and 12th on the floor exercise (9.650).

The Flames will tumble again next Saturday, Feb. 2, at the home opener at the UIC Physical Education Building when the Otahkians of Southeast Missouri State will visit the West Side. Competition begins at 7:00 PM.