U.S. starts fast

Liukin and Memmel share the all-around victory, leading the American women to the team title

Turns out the top step of the medal podium is big enough for two.

Nastia Liukin and Chellsie Memmel, who were separated by just .001 of a point at last year's world championships, tied for the all-around title to lead the U.S. women to the team crown last night at the Pacific Alliance Championship before a crowd of 1,262 at Blaisdell Arena.

"I didn't think it would be that close, but I guess it can be (closer)," Memmel said, wearing one of the two gold medals awarded.

The Americans trailed Australia after one rotation. But buoyed by superior depth and aided by the International Gymnastics Federation's new scoring system that rewards more challenging routines, the U.S. pulled ahead midway through the competition and stayed there, finishing with a total of 183.15 points.

"This team is such a great team and we all bonded really well and I think this is a start for a great year ahead," Liukin said.

Australia placed second with 177.05 points and Canada came in third at 172.05 points.

The meet featured the top three finishers at last year's world championships and the all-around title was again in doubt heading into the final rotation.

Liukin held a slim lead over Australia's Hollie Dykes in the all-around standings going into the meet's last stage, while Memmel was tied for third.

Memmel, competing for the first time since foot surgery, was initially awarded a 15.35 on the floor exercise, which would have left her out of the medals. But a mathematical error on her difficulty score was discovered, boosting her score to 15.45.

Liukin fell on the second tumbling pass of her floor exercise and scored a 14.65, opening the way for Memmel to catch her. The teammates finished with totals of 61.05.

"I didn't think I was that close to her," Memmel said. "Even with me hitting my floor (exercise) and her missing. I thought she was still going to win."

"It feels great even though I had a mistake on the floor," Liukin said. "Mostly all my routines are really new compared to the world championships, so I think I just need a little bit more time to get more consistent."

All four Americans finished in the top five in the all-around, and actually swept the top three spots. Jana Bieger finished just behind Liukin and Memmel with 61 points. But due to a rule limiting a team to two medals, Dykes claimed the bronze with 60.55 points.

Shayla Worley, the fourth U.S. scorer with 60.35 points, placed fifth.

Bieger earned the highest score on the vault. The Americans swept the top four spots in the uneven bars and all finished in the top five on the balance beam. Memmel and Bieger led the way on the floor exercise.

"I was pleased because we are at the beginning of the season," said U.S. coach Martha Karolyi. "For this time of the year they did an excellent job."

Said Memmel: "I think we're a really strong team on all four events. We have a lot of depth. We have a great group of girls coming up, too. So I think we'll be strong for a very long time."

Under the new system, points for difficulty and execution (which uses the familiar 10 scale) are added up to make up a competitor's total score.

Monette Russo got Australia off to a strong start in its opening rotation with a 15.1 on the uneven bars, helping the team take a slight lead over the Americans.

The U.S. played it safe on the vault, then made up the gap with a spectacular run on the bars. The Americans started with Bieger's 15.4 routine and just got better. Memmel posted a 15.5, and Shayla Worley followed at 15.55. Liukin, the reigning world champion in the event, helped the U.S. move ahead with a 15.95.

The Australians kept pace on the balance beam thanks to Dykes' 16.0, the highest individual score of the night, which launched her to the top of the all-around standings.

Liukin passed Dykes with a 15.6 on the beam and led by a half-point going into the final rotation.

Russo, the bronze medalist at the world championships, injured her ankle during the team's trials for the Commonwealth Games in February and was held out of the final two rotations.

The championships continue tonight with the men's team and all-around competition at Blaisdell. The competition concludes with the event finals tomorrow night.

Kona-born Tessa Pama posted the third-highest all-around score in the junior women's division, helping the Americans dominate the rest of the field. The United States scored 181.450, beating out second-place Canada by more than 10 points.

Pama qualified for the event finals on three aparatuses, finishing second on the uneven bars and floor exercise, and tied for second on vault. She finished tied for sixth on the balance beam.

The United States women posted the top-four individual scores in the all-around, with Shawn Johnson winning the competition with a score of 61.000. Bianca Flohr finished second with 60.150, and Pama rounded out the top three with 59.700 points.

Because only the top two finishers from each country can be awarded medals in the all-around, the bronze went to Xiao Sha of China, who had the fifth-highest score overall with 58.800 points.