PAN AMERICAN GAMES Gymnasts rescue U.S. from slow start

Rulon Gardner keyed a strong showing from U.S. wrestlers.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- A slow start for U.S. teams at the Pan American Games on Saturday was rescued by women gymnasts and Rulon Gardner and his fellow wrestling Olympians.
Gardner, whose upset of the supposedly unbeatable Alexander Karelin in the 2002 Olympics made him a national hero, won his first Pan Ams match 4-0 over Edwin Millet of Puerto Rico. In the midst of a comeback from a 2002 snowmobiling accident that resulted in the amputation of a toe, Gardner believes he is not in top form yet.
He looked fine against the overmatched Millet.
"I want to win the Pan American Games, then the world championships next month and then hopefully represent the U.S. in Athens," he said.
Three other U.S. wrestlers with Olympic experience also won their first matches: Brandon Paulson, James Gruenwald and Kevin Bracken.
Team title
The U.S. gymnasts beat Canada and Brazil in the team competition, led by teenagers Nastia Liukin and Chellsie Memmel.
Liukin, 13, of Plano, Texas, scored 37.474 in four events (uneven bars, floor exercise, balance beam, vault), best in the field. American teammate Chellsie Memmel, 15, of West Allis, Wisc., had the second highest score.
"We all had a good meet and we all did great as a team, trying to help each other," Liukin said. "We are very excited to be the first (U.S.) gold medalist at the 2003 Pan American Games."
That helped soothe decisive U.S. losses in women's basketball and handball and a scoreless tie in men's field hockey.
In women's fencing, the team saber and foil events were canceled in May, but the U.S. contingent said it was not alerted until Saturday. Sada Jacobson of Atlanta is the world's top-ranked fencer in saber, making the Americans a strong possibility for team gold. She was undefeated in pool play and went for an individual medal later in the day, as did her younger sister, Emily.
Communication problem
The U.S. Olympic Committee is seeking a clarification of the decision from the Pan American Sports Organization, which told delegates two days ago that every scheduled event would be held.
"It was not communicated to the U.S. delegation, or somehow it got lost," said Suzie Paxton, a spokeswoman for U.S. Fencing.
But Pan American Fencing Federation president Hanibal Illueco said every other nation knew the two events were not on the schedule.
"This seems to be a communications problem within the United States," Illueco said.
The American women's basketball squad got some familiar treatment from the Cubans, falling 84-62. The United States, which lost three straight in Cuba last month, was outscored 15-0 to start the second half after building a 14-point lead.
"We know each other so well," U.S. coach Debbie Ryan said. "They came out with a lot more energy and we didn't have energy. They pressured and we didn't handle the pressure."
Yakelin Plutin had 18 points for Cuba. Ann Strother of Connecticut and Laurie Koehn of Kansas State each scored 11 for the Americans.
The U.S. men played Argentina at night.
Medal winners
The first medals of the games were awarded in women's air rifle, with Cuba's Eglis Cruz taking the gold over Melissa Mulloy of Middleton, Mass.
"I came with expectations, but I never thought I'd experience happiness like this," Cruz said. "It's always important to win a gold. But this time I hope it has even more importance because it can pave the way for many more Cuban victories."
Another U.S. team getting nowhere was in women's handball, where Brazil won 36-13.
"Brazil is tall, fast and precise," said 1996 Olympian and team captain Lisa Eagan. "Thats why they're the best team out there. We played them tough, but we made some simple mistakes with turnovers and there were some penalties that shouldn't have been called. But well learn from this one."
The men's field hockey squad tied Chile 0-0 in the first team event of the games.