March 16, 2001

Results

Chicago, Ill. - The women's gymnastics team tied a school-record with a score of 195.7 en route to their third consecutive Illinois Classic title at the Physical Education Building on Friday night. UIC (14-6) outdistanced Illinois State (195.175), Illinois (193.475) and Northern Illinois (192) for the title.

"This is so sweet because of how hard we worked for this," women's gymnastics coach Peter Jansson said. "We did not leave one stone unturned, this was a total team effort."

Junior Amy August (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles) led the way for the Flames with a first-place, season-high finish on the uneven bars (9.900) along with a runner-up performance on the vault (9.800) to earn all-state honors.

Senior Cheryl Rubinger (Stockton, Calif./Lincoln) also was an all-state selection as she was a part of a three-way tie for first-place on the balance beam along with Illinois State's Jaime Reineck and Illinois' Jana Gallagher with a 9.875.

Rubinger also tied for second-place in the all-around competition with a 39.125 along with teammate Atlin Mitchell (South Surrey, BC/Elgin Park) and Northern Illinois' Anna Gardina. Illinois State's Heather Mohler won the all-around competition with a score of 39.175.

Junior Kim Sommer (Wheaton, Ill./Glenbard South) earned all-state recognition with a second-place finish of 9.8 on the vault routine. Senior Laura Jungels (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) and Nadia Ori (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park) also earned all-state honors as they tied for third-place on the floor exercise with a 9.85.

"This was a great meet," Jansson said. "This gives us the bragging rights in the state of Illinois."

The Flames will be back in action next Saturday, as they will participate in the Midwest Independent Championships at Winona State at 7 PM.