Women's Gymnastics Rolls To Conference Title; Breaks School Record
March 23, 2002 Chicago, Ill. - The senior-laden University of Illinois at Chicago women's gymnastics team wanted to make their last competition at home a memorable one. The Flames bested memorable and entered legendary on Saturday evening, winning the 2002 Midwest Independent Championship for the sixth time in school history with a school record-breaking score of 196.025 at the UIC Physical Education Building. The lofty score was also a championship record, besting the Flames' 195.525 score from the 1995 MIC Championships. The previous UIC school record was set last year, as the Flames rolled up a 195.7 at the Illinois Classic on March 16. Following the Flames was Illinois State (194.775), Southeast Missouri State (193.875), Centenary (193.2) and Winona State (190.075). Senior Sara Casica made her last PEB performance a dandy, winning the all-around title with a personal-best of 39.375. On her way to the all-around title, Casica won the floor (9.925) and beam competitions (9.925) in impressive fashion as well. Atlin Mitchell, competing on an injured right knee, won the vault competition heroically with a score of 9.850. Amy August also chimed in with a victory, taking the bars competition scoring a nifty 9.9. Earning all-conference accolades for the Flames based on their performance Saturday night included Mitchell, August, Casica, Jennifer O'Neil, Alyson Cacciatore and Jamie Grabowski. Other all-conference athletes included: Ashley Godwin from SEMO and Heather Mohler, Denise Houda and Carlee Wright from Illinois State.
The Flames will now await word from the NCAA to see if the Regional competition will become a reality.
The NCAA South-Central Regional is slated for April 6 in Tempe, Arizona at Arizona State University. |
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