The Day in Review : Fencing

The American women’s team epee victory over the Cubans at the Pan American Games was “sweet, very sweet,” team captain Carl Borack said. Fencing official George Kolombatovich, coach at Columbia University, called it “age and treachery over youth and inexperience.”

The team was led by Margo Miller of Santa Monica, Donna Stone of Belleville, N.J., Cathy McClellan of Marblehead, Mass., Laurel Clark Skillman of San Francisco and Elaine Cheris of Denver.

The 9-7 victory came two months after the Cubans placed seventh at the world championships in Budapest, the Americans 19th.

In the Pan American victory, Skillman fenced Yamila Figueroa in the deciding bout. Skillman was undefeated in her four bouts in the gold medal match.

The Americans got the edge when Cheris, 45, scored four touches against 1990 world champion Taimi Chappe. Later, Cheris, who had been feeling ill for nearly two days, slipped off the elevated ramp and took 10 minutes to recover.

But in her final bout against Maria Perez, she scored the winning touch in the final second of the five-minute clock. The United States led in touches as well as bouts, with 62-56.

Field Hockey

Jamaica’s women defeated Cuba, 2-0, for fifth place in competition at Antonio Maceo Sports Complex in Santiago de Las Vegas, near Havana. Trinidad defeated Barbados, 4-2, for seventh place.

In the men’s competition, Chile beat Cuba, 1-0, for fifth and Trinidad took seventh with a 2-0 victory over Venezuela.

Roller Skating

Tony Muse of West Des Moines, Iowa, won the gold medal in the men’s 300-meter time trial with a time of 26.22 seconds at the Metropolitan Skating Rink. He was the only skater faster than 27 seconds. Doug Glass of Olympia, Wash., won the bronze.

Muse’s brother, Dante, won a silver in the 10,000 meters despite falling. He scraped his left forearm when he was shoved to the track early in the race. Francisco Fuentes of Chile won the event.

Darlene Kessinger of Fremont, Calif., got the silver in the women’s 300 team trial, finishing behind Maria Richardson of Argentina.

Deanna Parker of Des Moines won the bronze in the women’s 5,000, behind Claudia Rodriguez and Rosa Sastre of Argentina. Kessinger finished seventh.

In roller hockey action, undefeated Argentina handed the United States its first loss, 8-1, dropping the Americans into third place. Colombia defeated Cuba, 13-2, and second-place Brazil beat Chile, 5-2.

The U.S. also led in compulsory dance with the team of Jodee Viola of Raynham, Mass., and Greg Goody of Brockton, Mass.

Swimming

Two Brazilian victories, including an upset of the United States’ top-two seeded swimmers in the men’s 200-meter backstroke, and a victory by 6-foot-5 Costa Rican Sylvia Poll slowed the American dominance at the East Havana pool complex.

The U.S. women salvaged the day with a victory in the 400 freestyle relay and a 1-2 finish by Jane Skillman of Princeton, N.J., and Barb Metz of Casper, Wyo., in the 400 freestyle.

The biggest U.S. disappointment was in the men’s 200 backstroke, where Brazilian Rogerio Romero rallied from fourth place midway through the race and won in 2 minutes 1.07 seconds. Dan Veatch, a former Olympian from Boca Raton, Fla., and teammate Brad Bridgewater of Longwood, Fla., were seeded 1-2 but finished second and fourth.

Brazil’s other victory also was a surprise. Gustavo Borges, 18, set a Pan Am Games 100 freestyle record of 49.48--his best time by more than a second. Joel Thomas of Pasadena, who attends California, won the silver medal. He finished more than a second behind Borges.

Poll, a former Olympian and the defending Pan Am Games champion in the 100 backstroke, won another gold with a time of 1:03.15. Jodi Wilson of Plano, Tex., was third.

Skillman earned her second gold medal this week by winning the 400 freestyle in 4:13.69. Metz, a Stanford graduate competing in the final race of her career, was second in 4:16.90.

The U.S. relay team of Megan Oesting of Mercer Island, Wash., Suzy Buckovich of Spring Grove, Pa., Lisa Jacob of Mission Viejo and Ashley Tappin of Metaire, La., was an easy winner in 3:48.88.

Taekwondo

Fabio Goulart of Brazil defeated Herbert Perez of Cliffside, N.J., for the gold medal in the 83-kilogram category. Henry Ramirez of Colombia and Jorge Kahkajian of Venezuela shared the bronze.

Han Won Lee of Ann Arbor, Mich., was eliminated by eventual gold medalist Carols Rivas of Venezuela in the quarterfinals of the 58-kilogram division.

Volleyball

Natalie Williams, a volleyball and basketball star from UCLA, had 19 kills at Ramon Fonst Hall, but it was not nearly enough to stop Brazil from defeating the United States, 15-10, 10-15, 15-6, 15-2, in women’s play.

The United States, 1-3 with a team of mostly collegiate all-stars such as Williams, must defeat Canada (1-3) today to earn the fourth berth in the medal round.

Coley Kyman of Cal State Northridge had 15 kills as the United States (2-2) was shut out by Cuba, 15-3, 15-6, 15-13. Kyman, a 6-foot-5-inch power hitter who also hopes to be Northridge’s starting quarterback this fall, could not help overcome the undefeated Cubans, ranked second in the world.

The 13 points in the final game was the most Cuba (4-0) has allowed in one game in this competition.