FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 24, 2005

 

Field set for 2006 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Curling

 

(STEVENS POINT, Wis.) – The field is now set for the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Curling Feb. 19-26 (2005) at the Madison Curling Club in McFarland, Wis.

 

The final four qualifiers in the men’s and women’s fields were determined this weekend at the Challenge Round in Eveleth, Minn. Emerging from that competition were teams skipped by Greg Eigner (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Rich Ruohonen (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), Ben Tucker (St. Thomas, N.D.), Wes Johnson (Everett, Wash.), Katlyn Schmitt (Bemidji, Minn.), Norma O’Leary (Silver Bay, Minn.), Lori Karst (Madison, Wis.) and Aileen Sormunen (Duluth, Minn.).

 

They join the 12 previously qualified teams for the weeklong event to determine the USA’s entrants for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy. The winning men’s and women’s teams also will represent the USA at the upcoming 2005 Ford World Curling Championships. The women’s championship is slated March 19-26 in Paisley, Scotland, while the men’s championship will take place April 2-10 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

 

The field for the Olympic Trials is comprised of several past Olympians and several newcomers to the Trials process. Two-time Olympians Erika Brown (Oakville, Ontario/Madison, Wis.) and Debbie McCormick (Rio, Wis.) hope to make a third appearance at the Olympic Games. 2002 Olympian Ann Swisshelm Silver (Chicago) will team up with McCormick along with Allison Pottinger (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Tracy Sachtjen (Lodi, Wis.). They are coached by 2002 Olympian Joni Cotten (Mount Prospect, Ill.). Brown is teaming up with her 2004 national champion team of Patti Lank (Lewiston, N.Y.), Nicole Joraanstad (Madison, Wis.) and Natalie Nicholson (Bemidji, Minn.). The field also features the 2002 World Junior champion and 2003 World Junior silver medalist team skipped by Cassie Johnson (Bemidji, Minn.).

 

The men’s field does not contain any past Olympians but there are several past national champions, including teams skipped by Pete Fenson (2003 national champion), Jason Larway (2004 champion), Scott Baird (1993 and ‘94 champion), Craig Brown (2000 champion), and Craig Disher (1997 champion).

 

The Fenson, Baird and Brown teams all feature players hailing from the Bemidji Curling Club in Bemidji, Minn. In all, 18 players from the Bemidji club have qualified for the Trials, the most representing any single club in the field.

 

The 2006 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Curling will be a single round robin format. The top four teams in each division (men’s and women’s) advance to their respective semifinals. The format for the semifinals will feature the Page Playoff System: the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams will meet, with the winner advancing to the finals and the losing team playing the winner of the semifinal game between the No. 3 and No. 4 ranked teams. The loser of the No. 3 vs. No. 4 match will be out.

 

The 2006 Olympic Winter Games will take place Feb. 10-26 in Torino, Italy. The curling competition will be held in the city of Pinerolo.

 

Curling became a full medal sport in 1998 at the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

 

A complete list of competing teams and their hometowns is listed below:

 

WOMEN’S FIELD:

 

  • Team Richard: Nancy Richard (Sedro Woolley, Wash.), Doreen Deaver (Auburn, Wash.), Leslie Frosch (Shoreline, Wash.), Miyo Konno (Monroe, Wash.)
  • Team Lank: Patti Lank (Lewiston, N.Y.), Erika Brown (Oakville, Ontario/Madison, Wis.), Nicole Joraanstad (Madison, Wis.), Natalie Nicholson (Bemidji, Minn.)
  • Team Sormunen: Aileen Sormunen, Courtney George, Amanda Jensen, Amanda McLean (all of Duluth, Minn.)
  • Team Wright: Amy Wright (Duluth, Minn.), Cristin Clark (Redmond, Wash.), Stephanie Roland (Petersburg, N.D.), Lisa Rugen (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Team McCormick: Debbie McCormick (Rio, Wis.), Allison Pottinger (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Ann Swisshelm Silver (Chicago), Tracy Sachtjen (Lodi, Wis.)
  • Team Johnson: Cassie Johnson (Bemidji, Minn.), Jamie Johnson (Bemidji, Minn.), Jessica Schultz (Anchorage, Alaska), Maureen Brunt (Portage, Wis.)
  • Team O’Leary: Norma O’Leary (Silver Bay, Minn.), Becky Dobie (St. Peter, Minn.), Anne Robb (Duluth, Minn.), Patricia Luke (Duluth, Minn.)
  • Team Schmitt: Katlyn Schmitt (Madison, Wis.), Monica Matson, Sarah Schmitt, Sarah Lehman, Katie Goodyear (all of Bemidji, Minn.)
  • Team Maroldo: Caitlin Maroldo (Rochester, N.Y.), Chrissy Fink-Haase (Schenectady, N.Y.), Elizabeth Williams (Utica, N.Y.), Erlene Puleo (New Hartford, N.Y.), Katie Beck (St. Paul, Minn.)
  • Team Karst: Lori Karst (Madison, Wis.), Stephanie Radl (Verona, Wis.), Shelly Pape (Madison, Wis.), Laurie Walters (DePere, Wis.)

 

MEN’S FIELD

·        Team Fenson: Pete Fenson (Bemidji, Minn.), Shawn Rojeski (Chisholm, Minn.), Joe Polo (Cass Lake, Minn.), John Shuster (Chisholm, Minn.)

·        Team Disher: Craig Disher (Rolla, N.D.), Kevin Kakela (Rolla, N.D.), Joel Jacobson (Langdon, N.D.), Carey Kakela (St. John, N.D.), Zach Jacobson (Langdon, N.D.)

·        Team Clark: Brady Clark (Redmond, Wash.), Greg Persinger (Anchorage, Alaska), Colin Hufman (Lynnwood, Wash.), Ken Trask (Kirkland, Wash.), Doug Kauffman (Lynnwood, Wash.)

·        Team Johnson: Wes Johnson (Everett, Wash.), Leon Romaniuk (Redmond, Wash.), Brandon Way (Seattle), Mark Lazar (Toledo, Ohio), Quentin Way (Bemidji, Minn.)

·        Team Eigner: Greg Eigner (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Jeremy Roe (Rio, Wis.), Patrick Roe (Madison, Wis.), Ken Olson (Plymouth, Minn.), Mark Hartmann (Sun Prairie, Wis.)

·        Team Larway: Jason Larway (Lynnwood, Wash.), Doug Pottinger (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Joel Larway (Mukilteo, Wash.), Bill Todhunter (Appleton, Wis.)

·        Team Brown: Craig Brown (Madison, Wis.), Matt Stevens (Bemidji, Minn.), Cody Stevens (Bemidji, Minn.), John Dunlop (Wauwatosa, Wis.), Bob Liapis (Bemidji, Minn.)

·        Team Ruohonen: Rich Ruohonen (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), Nick Myers (Mapleton, Minn.), John Benton (St. Michael, Minn.), Pete Annis (Owatonna, Minn.)

·        Team Baird: Scott Baird, Eric Fenson, Mark Haluptzok, Tim Johnson (all of Bemidji, Minn.)

·        Team Tucker: Ben Tucker (St. Thomas, N.D.), Owen Sampson (Edmore, N.D.), Ned Sampson (Edmore, N.D.), Travis Kitchens (Devils Lake, N.D.)

 

Biographical information and photos of the qualified teams can be found at www.usacurl.org. Media accreditation forms for the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team Trials also can be found on the web at http://www.usacurl.org/media-acf04.htm.

 

USA Curling is sponsored by AIT Worldwide Logistics and AmerAust Technologies as well as by General Motors, Chevron-Texaco and Bank of America through a joint marketing program with the U.S. Olympic Committee.

 

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For more information: Rick Patzke, USA Curling, rickp@curlingrocks.net, 715-344-1199