Alicia Marcano and Team USA's John Janawicz won the women's and men's Singles titles in the opening event of the 2012 Pan American Combined Championships Monday at Sunset Station's Strike Zone Bowling Center in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, Nev.

Janawicz had a monumental comeback in the final game to win the men's gold medal. Sitting 76 pins outside of first going into the final game, Janawicz started the sixth game with nine consecutive strikes to earn the gold medal with 1,449 six-game total and an average of 241.5.

Janawicz closed out the block with a 278 game, leaving a 2 pin after starting with nine strikes. The final-game tally was just enough to give him the gold by seven pins over Mexico's Andre Fors (right), who finished with a 299 game. Brazil's Marcelo Suartz, who led going into the final game, earned the bronze with 1,428 after closing with 181.

"I knew I needed a big game and had to do something different, so I moved in a little bit and changed my grip pressure," said Janawicz, who also won the PABCON men's singles title in 2007. "After two frames, I knew the ball was doing the right thing and at that point it was just about getting it there."

On the women's side, Marcano closed strong with games of 245 and 236 to claim the title with 1,368 (228 average). Team USA's Shannon Pluhowsky earned the silver medal finishing with 1,353, while Colombia's Paola Gomez took the bronze with 1,340.

Marcano, who also won the PABCON women's singles gold in 1997, entered the 10th frame of the last game needing a mark with good count to win the gold and delivered a perfect strike for the win.

"I won the gold medal in singles in 1997 and it feels good to be on the podium again for Venezuela," Marcano said. "The bowlers now in PABCON are even better than in 1997, so that makes me feel more special."

The action now shifts to the doubles event, which will take place starting at 8 a.m. Pacific on Tuesday. BOWL.com's BowlTV is providing free live streaming of the entire tournament.

The 2012 PABCON Combined Championships will be held from Aug. 18-26, 2012 at Sunset Station's Strike Zone Bowling Center in Henderson, Nev., United States.

196 players - 106 men and 90 women - from 18 countries will bowl for gold, silver and bronze medals in Singles, Doubles, Trios, Teams, All Events (24-game total) and Masters.

The event also serves as qualifying event for the 2013 Combined World Championships which will be held from Aug. 18-31 at Strike Zone bowling center.