PAN AMERICAN GAMES : Miller Struggles but Leads U.S. Sweep in Gymnastics

Their coach claimed they would outclass the competition. Then the U.S. women gymnasts made him sweat.

In the end, the class of Shannon Miller, Amanda Borden and Amy Chow shined through as the Americans swept the all-around event.

Miller, winner of five medals in the last two world championships, struggled on the balance beam, then won the gold when teammate Chow wobbled on the beam. Borden won the silver and Chow the bronze.

“You just have to block it out and get back up,” Miller said of the slip on the beam. “You can never give up.”

Borden, whose up-tempo routines drew cheers from the packed house, scored a 9.825 on the uneven bars. The Cincinnati native finished second, 0.012 points behind Miller.

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The United States won four of the five swimming events Tuesday. Brooke Bennett won the 400 freestyle and was joined on the gold-medal stand by the women’s 400 freestyle relay team of Cristina Teuscher, Angel Martino, Alison Fealey and Amy Van Dyken; Barbara Bedford of Etna, N.H., in the women’s 100 backstroke; and Brad Bridgewater of Dallas in the men’s 200 backstroke.

Bennett’s 400 time of 4 minutes, 11.78 seconds was eight seconds off Janet Evans’ record in that event, but Evans has not approached the mark since setting it in the 1988 Olympics.

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St. John’s University, serving as the U.S. baseball entry, lost its fourth consecutive game, this time, 14-4, to Guatemala. . . . Michele Granger of Anchorage, Alaska pitched a one-hitter as the U.S. women overwhelmed Puerto Rico, 6-0, in softball. . . . Paraguay defeated the U.S. soccer team, 2-0. . . . The American men defeated Puerto Rico, 15-12, 15-12, 15-5, in volleyball, with Chris Underwood of Los Angeles pacing the team with 23 kills. The U.S. women swept Canada, 15-8, 15-7, 15-6.