Junior Evan Heiter landed his two-and-a-half twisting dismount on the floor exercise and immediately erupted in triumphant clapping and shouting.

So did the No. 3 Michigan men's gymnastics team and what seemed to be half the crowd — which turned out to be the Heiter family cheering section.

It was Heiter's first performance in a team competition. Until Saturday's 340.05-324.20 win over No. 11 Illinois-Chicago, he had watched every Michigan meet from the sidelines.

For three years, Heiter has been among the gymnasts welcoming teammates back with high-fives and congratulations. Now, for the first time, he experienced the camaraderie from the other side.

“The multiple clap really worked tonight,” Heiter said with a laugh. “I had a pretty big cheering section — that actually made me more nervous. … That kind of put the pressure on. We didn’t have the best showing right before me, so I just wanted to show them what Michigan could do.”

With seven members of the team in Las Vegas for the Winter Cup, Michigan (7-1 overall) expected a fight from Illinois-Chicago (2-6), a scrappy, up-and-coming program. But despite a season-low score, the Wolverines coasted to a surprisingly easy win.

Even with just one hit routine on pommel horse — sophomore Ben Baldus-Strauss, who won the event — the Wolverines captured every individual title except for the all-around, in which they had no competitors. The team claimed its first vault title of the year and senior Joe Catrambone took home the Newt Loken Award for best performance of the night.

Michigan coach Kurt Golder told his team at Friday's practice to take the intensity level up several notches. Throughout the competition, the Wolverine bench kept up steady cheers, egged on by Baldus-Strauss’s father on the cowbell.

The Wolverines had difficulty on the first two rotations, floor and pommel horse, but they got back on track with rings and vault. On rings, the first three gymnasts all stuck their dismounts, including junior Torrance Laury and Catrambone.

Laury looked somewhat shaky last weekend, when he competed for the first time in almost a year after recovering from a lat injury. Saturday night, he returned to the excellent form he displayed in his freshman year, earning a career-high 14.20. It was enough for second place behind redshirt freshman rings specialist Andrew Vance (14.55).

“I was just really nervous (last weekend),” Laury said. “I think that … the biggest difference (was) just being a little more comfortable this time after having one meet under my belt this season.”

To lead off the vault rotation, freshman Syque Caesar — who had already won the floor exercise — stuck a perfect, full-twisting vault. Four of his five fellow vaulters also followed with hits, including senior Jamie Thompson, who was performing his difficult handspring double-front vault for the first time in competition. Caesar and Baldus-Strauss, who was competing for the first time since injuring his knee in the first meet of the season, tied for the event win (15.25).

And the high bar squad closed the night out with five straight hits. Sophomore Ian Makowske bounced back from rough sets on floor and pommel horse with a picture-perfect high bar routine, complete with a stuck landing and celebration. Catrambone earned an event-winning 14.55 with his hit set.

He hadn’t landed a triple-backflip dismount in warmups, but in competition, the Deptford, N.J., native landed and took a step back.

“There were a lot of guys in the lineup that don’t normally compete,” Catrambone said. “Once (the Winter Cup competitors) get back and everything kind of settles down into the usual form, I think we’ll be good to go.”