Weekly Release #2: vs. Illinois-Chicago

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Jan. 23 -- host No. 8 Illinois-Chicago (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 29 -- host No. 6 Illinois and No. 3 Ohio State (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.

Looking Ahead to Illinois-Chicago
The fourth-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team and No. 8 Illinois-Chicago will meet for the second time this season in the Wolverines' home opener at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 23. The two teams first met last Saturday (Jan. 16) in the Windy City Open, with Michigan placing third (224.050) and the Flames sixth (221.050) in each team's inaugural meet.

About UIC
Illinois-Chicago is coming off a tough season in which it was winless in dual meets. Head coach "CJ" Johnson is looking to top returners Mike D'Antino, Dave Johnson and Charlie Nelson to provide the Flames with a formidable rings squad.

Juniors Jody Liebler and Greg Gabel are captaining this season's Flames. Liebler was UIC's lone NCAA championship participant last season, qualifying in the vault after scoring a 9.700 at the NCAA East Regional. Gabel returns as the Flames' top all-around performer after competing in all-around competition in eight meets last season.

Last Season vs. the Flames
Michigan faced Illinois-Chicago twice last season, outscoring the Flames 220.800 to 217.900 at the Windy City Invitational (Jan. 17, 1998) and 227.350 to 224.000 at UIC (Feb. 21). In the dual meet, Michigan was led by Kevin Roulston (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township HS), who won the all-around with a 57.45, his personal-best score. Then-freshman Kenny Keener (Maryville, Tenn./Maryville HS) established a new school record on the still rings in the meet (9.75).

Wolverines Climb to Fourth
After placing third out of seven ranked teams at the Windy City Open in the first week of competition, Michigan jumped five spots from ninth to fourth place (224.050) in the GymInfo national rankings. The Maize and Blue are currently behind Iowa (226.675), Penn State (225.675) and Ohio State (225.000).

GymInfo National Rankings (1/18/99)
(By Highest Score)

 1. Iowa               226.675
 2. Penn State         225.675
 3. Ohio State         225.000
 4. MICHIGAN           224.050
 5. Massachusetts      223.650
 6. Illinois           223.400
 7. Michigan State     223.200
 8. Illinois-Chicago   221.050
 9. Minnesota          216.550
10. California         214.800
11. William & Mary     212.850
12. Stanford           211.900
13. Army               209.250
14. Navy               203.250
15. James Madison      193.600
16. Temple             176.250
17. MIT                175.850

Impressive Performance at Opener
Michigan opened up its 1999 season with a strong performance at the Windy City Open, hosted by Illinois-Chicago on Saturday (Jan. 16). The Wolverines placed third among the seven ranked competitors with a final team score of 224.050. No. 1 Iowa (226.675) and No. 3 Ohio State (225.000) took the lead positions, respectively.

Michigan's freshman class is already providing the strength and the depth that it was anticipated to add to the team. Freshman Daniel Diaz-Luong (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt HS) led the Wolverines in his first collegiate meet, finishing fifth in the all-around (56.100) and fifth on the pommel horse (9.65). Fellow freshman Scott Vetere (Pennsburg, Pa./Quakertown HS) followed closely behind Diaz-Luong in the all-around with a 55.900 for a sixth-place finish. Vetere took second on the parallel bars with a 9.65.

New Personal Bests
Senior co-captain Randy D'Amura (Austin, Texas/St. Michael's Academy) claimed a personal-best score of 9.450 on the floor exercise, matching the 9.450 he scored at the Michigan Invitational in 1996. Junior Bryan Pascoe (Sterling Hights, Mich./Farmington Hills HS) improved his personal best on the parallel bars from a 8.900 at last year's Windy City Open to a 9.00 at this year's open.