March 24, 2007

Chicago, Ill.- Despite a season-best team effort on floor exercise and another round of rings mastery from rookie Nikolai Korepanov, the 13th-ranked UIC men's gymnastics team fell to No. 7 Minnesota in the Flames' home finale at the Physical Education Building on Saturday evening.

UIC posted a 205.4 overall. The Golden Gophers won the meet with a 213.3.

Korepanov won the still rings competition with a first-place score of 9.45. It was his eighth rings score of 9.0 or better in nine routines this season.

UIC took an early lead on the Gophers after a season-best team score of 36.25 on floor exercise to open the meet. Anthony May led off with a 9.0, followed by a stellar team-leading 9.2 from Jeffrey Bill that would place third overall, a 9.05 from Tim Morrison and a 9.0 from Andrew Stover.

But the Flames were unable to hold on, as Minnesota rebounded from a 33.65 pommel tally in the first rotation to chalk up a 37.0 on floor in the second rotation and lead every event the rest of the way.

The Flames did not go away, however. May, who led UIC in the all-around with a career-high 51.9 that earned the sophomore second place, turned in a team-best 8.4 on pommel horse and a fourth-place 9.15 on rings to help keep the host squad within striking distance.

Morrison, a Nissen-Emery award finalist, led UIC on vault with an 8.5 and on high bar with an 8.9.

Bill kept up the hits with a 9.05 routine on parallel bars that garnered second place.

UIC heads to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships at Temple's McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia, Pa. next weekend. The team and all-around finals take place on Saturday, March 31st, while the individual event finals occur the following day.