Oct. 14, 2004

Chicago, Ill.- University of Illinois at Chicago men's gymnastics head coach "CJ" Johnson announced on Thursday that seniors Neil Faustino and Mike Galfi will take the reigns as captains of the team for the 2005 season.

Faustino, an all-arounder who earned prestigious All-America honors on vault last season, and Galfi, who turned in a breakout campaign on floor exercise, still rings and vault in 2004, will lead a Flames squad that returns 10 regulars from last year's first-ever Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship team.

The UIC men's gymnastics team opens up with a Mixed Pairs exhibition extravaganza on Dec. 4th at the UIC Physical Education Building at 2 p.m. The regular season kicks off on January 8th, 2005 for the 35th edition of the Windy City Invitational at the UIC PEB at 7 p.m.