FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2008

China outplays USA women at 2008 World Women's Championship

(VERNON, British Columbia) - Debbie McCormick's Chinese fortune cookie last night must have read "An up and coming team will take the wind out of your sail" as Bingyu Wang's team from China handed the Americans a lopsided 10-1 loss Tuesday afternoon at the 2008 Ford World Women's Championship at the Greater Vernon Multiplex.

"We feel like we got beat more by the ice than by China," a clearly frustrated McCormick said after the game. "They played really well. I think the ice beat us up more than they did. We hadn't played this sheet, and we struggled with draw weight and broom placement."

The petite Chinese team ended their day looking like giants as they defeated Canada's Jennifer Jones in the morning draw when Jones came up heavy with the game's final rock. McCormick (Rio, Wis.) and teammates Allison Pottinger (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Nicole Joraanstad (Madison, Wis.) and Tracy Sachtjen (Lodi, Wis.) were outplayed by the upstart team from China, which leads the pack with a perfect 7-0 record. With the loss, the Americans fall to 4-2 and into a tie for fourth place with Denmark.

This was the worse loss for McCormick as a skip in four appearances at the world championships as her team shot 64 percent compared to China's 80 percent.

"I've played long enough to know that sometimes you're going to have a game like this," said McCormick, who shot 50 percent.

The U.S. now plays Canada's Jennifer Jones in the 6 p.m. PT draw tonight. "I think it is easier to come back from getting your butt kicked than from losing a close one," McCormick said of tonight's match-up.

The Chinese ladies clearly carried their momentum from the game this morning against Canada as Wang converted a double takeout for one point in the first end. The Chinese skip then drew behind a center guard to bury her final stone in the four-foot. McCormick would wreck on the guard and give up the steal of one. The shooting woes continued for the U.S. as McCormick was forced to draw for a single in the third end against four Chinese stones.

"The USA didn't play so well," Wang said. "They gave us so many chances to let us win. This was our second time playing this sheet of ice. It's kind of different. We've won some lucky ones, but we try hard."

When McCormick wrecked on a guard with her final stone in the fourth end, Wang made an open takeout for three points to increase the lead to 5-1. That end set a bad precedent for the remaining ends for the Americans as the Chinese ladies would steal five points over the next four ends as the U.S. struggled to convert much of anything.

The round robin continues through Thursday afternoon. The playoffs will begin Friday.

Game scores: China 10, USA 1; Denmark 7, Scotland 6; Japan 10, Russia 5; Sweden 8, Italy 7

USA line score:
China* 110 321 12x x 10
USA 001 000 00x x 1
*last stone in first end

Standings:
China 7-0
Canada 5-1
Switzerland 5-1
Denmark 4-2
USA 4-2
Germany 3-3
Japan 3-3
Sweden 3-4
Russia 2-5
Italy 1-5
Scotland 1-6
Czech Republic 0-6

USA Curling is sponsored by AIT Worldwide Logistics, AmerAust Technologies and Nike.

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For more information: Terry Kolesar, USA Curling, terry.kolesar@usacurl.org, 715-344-1199, Ext. 202, or 608-338-9900 (cell).