CHICAGO - So far, so good. The men's gymnastics team, after one meet, seems to be right on track.

On Saturday night, the team competed against five other schools in the Windy City Invitational, hosted by the University of Illinois-Chicago. After five rotations, Michigan sat less than a point behind first-place Ohio State, and it seemed poised to exceed Michigan coach Kurt Golder's third-place expectations. But the final event for the Wolverines was the pommel horse, their old nemesis.

Just three of six Michigan gymnasts cleanly completed the event, as cheers exploded from the floor exercise and vault areas, where Ohio State and third-place Illinois seemed to be hitting every routine. After that final event, Michigan fell to third place but still kept a positive outlook.

"(We expected to do) just about what we did," Golder said. "I was hoping that we could finish in the top three. Illinois and Ohio State are very, very good. I wanted to stay ahead of Minnesota and UIC and Iowa, and we did that."

Golder said he was pleased with his young squad's showing. He noted that 22 of Michigan's 36 routines were performed by new members of the team. Freshman Joe Catrambone finished fourth in the all-around competition, a great accomplishment for his first collegiate meet.

"It feels pretty good," Catrambone said. "I'm pretty excited to be out here. I love Michigan. The guys are great, and the team spirit is amazing. We came out and did our job today. We just have to get a couple more hits on pommel horse, and we'll be set for the year."

One thing the Wolverines won't have to worry about is being steadfastly supported by their teammates. Though no cowbell made the journey to Chicago, each gymnast was greeted enthusiasm, regardless of his score.

At the beginning of the meet, Catrambone was extremely nervous, but because of his teammates' encouragement, the freshman was able to quickly relax and perform like a veteran.

"The guys were cheering everyone on, everyone was pumped up," Catrambone said. "That makes it that much easier to hit a routine."

In addition to the freshman's quality performance, senior Gerry Signorelli always seemed to be ready with a clean, "hit" routine whenever the team needed it most. Signorelli finished in the top-10 in the parallel bars, floor exercise and high bar, and in the top-20 for vault.

"If I were giving a performance of the night, it would be Gerry Signorelli on high bar," Golder said. "He gets what I call the Newt Loken Award." (Former gymnastics coach Newt Loken was the coach of the gymnastics team from 1948 to 1983.)

Signorelli's high bar routine features a show-stopping release skill in which he performs a double back over the bar with a full twist. On Saturday night, he hit it perfectly, and to top it off, stuck the landing for a 9.1 score.

The team's main focus before next Saturday's meet against Penn State will be on improving their pommel horse routines. Golder may change the lineup somewhat for that event, possibly inserting Signorelli or sophomore Paul Woodward.

"We'll have several intrasquads during the week, and judge them and really put pressure on the guys," Golder said. "Hopefully some of the guys who weren't in (the lineup for the Windy City Invitational) can make their way into the lineup."