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Official 2010 Olympic curling pin

Mccormick inches closer to playoffs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2009

McCormick inches closer to playoffs at 2010 U.S. Olympic Team Trials

(BROOMFIELD, Colo.) - Two-time Olympian and former world champion Debbie McCormick took one giant slider forward towards making the playoffs for the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Tuesday night at the Broomfield Event Center.

McCormick (Rio, Wis.) and teammates Allison Pottinger (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Nicole Joraanstad (Madison, Wis.) and Natalie Nicholson (Bemidji, Minn.) overcame a few miscues to defeat Patti Lank's team, 8-7.

The McCormick team started the action with a single in the first end but would quickly steal two when Lank was heavy on her draw attempt. She'd give back one point, however, in the fourth after making a takeout but rolling her shooter to the side of the eight-foot. Tied 4-4 after six ends, Lank played aggressive to set up a three-ender. She wouldn't score again though as McCormick went on to pick up her seventh victory when Lank missed a takeout in the 10th end.

With the loss, Lank falls to 5-2 in the standings tied with Erika Brown (Oakville, Ontario) and Amy Wright (Duluth, Minn.). Brown held off Charrissa Lin, 8-7, despite Lin's steadfast attempts to earn her first win.

Wright and teammates Courtney George (Duluth), Jordan Moulton (Highland Park, Ill.) and Patti Luke (Duluth) held off a teammate they're very familiar with - fellow Minnesota skip Norma O'Leary (Silver Bay, Minn.), 8-7.

"Being seeded sixth, we knew we had to play all the top-seeded teams first. We wanted to come out of that with a winning record," said Wright, the three-time U.S. national champion. "We're coming together at the right time."

Cassie Potter improved to 4-3 with a 6-3 win over Gillian Gervais. Potter, the 2006 Olympian, took an early lead and held on with a deuce in the 10th end to stay in the thick of things.

"We haven't had much luck in the morning draws," Potter said and laughed at her 0-3 record in the early draws. "I've struggled with my draw weight and timing but feel like I have a better feel for it now. I was thinking back to some of the early games and thought if I had just made a few more draws we'd be in better shape."

Aileen Sormunen's team also picked up a win tonight to snap their losing skid. Sormunen and teammates Molly Bonner (Virginia, Minn.), Jessica Schultz (Minneapolis) and Sophie Brorson (Duluth) used a lot of offense to take down Cristin Clark, 10-3, to improve to 3-4 in the round robin standings.

The top four teams advance to the page system of playoffs beginning Thursday night. The women's championship final is set for 10 a.m. Saturday.

Live scoring from the event will be available at www.usacurl.org/curlingrocks in the scoreboard.

Universal Sports will air 12 hours live from the 2010 Olympic Team Trials, including the semifinals and championship finals. Live webstreaming also will be on www.universalsports.com.

Scores: Sormunen 10, Clark 3; Potter 6, Gervais 3; Brown 8, Lin 7; Wright 8, O'Leary 7; McCormick 8, Lank 7

STANDINGS:
Women:
McCormick    7-0
Brown        5-2
Lank        5-2
Wright        5-2
Potter        4-3
O'Leary    3-4
Sormunen    3-4
Clark        2-5
Gervais    1-6
Lin        0-7

Men:
George        5-1
Birr        4-2
Brown        3-3
Farbelow    3-3
Johnson    3-3
Romaniuk    3-3
Shuster    3-3
Deeren        2-4
Disher         2-4
Plys        2-4

USA Curling is sponsored by Kodiak Technology Group, AIT Worldwide Logistics and Nike.

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For more information: Terry Kolesar, USA Curling, 715-344-1199, Ext. 202, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
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