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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 21, 2005
Bemidji brothers battle it out at the
2006 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Curling
(MADISON, Wis.) – Sometimes Olympic dreams clash in ways
that can hurt more than any physical ailment. Such was
the case today when two brothers playing on opposite
teams met in the men’s fourth round of action at the
2006 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Curling.
Both are from Bemidji, Minn., and have been curling for
over 20 years. They spent many of those years as
teammates. The brothers won a national championship
together in 2003, with Pete, 36, skipping and Eric, 33,
as the vice skip. They returned in 2004 and finished
second in the nationals. But as the playoff process
began for the Olympic Trials, the brothers were on
different teams. However, curling is just a game after
all, as both parents and the brothers attested to after
the game.
“When you get out on the ice, no matter who you’re
playing, you have to try to forget those things and just
play. It was kind of hard to do that in this game,” Pete
Fenson said. “He’s my brother, with my old team, and
those are my friends. Yeah, it’s tough.”
And tough the game was. Eric, playing vice skip for the
Scott Baird rink but throwing last rocks, ran back a
guard and doubled out Pete’s two shot rocks leaving Eric
sitting four. Pete came up short on a draw giving Eric
the steal of four and momentum for the game.
“Rick made a great triple in the first end, and we were
in a pile of trouble. The ice was smoking fast, and I
just wasn’t comfortable with it yet. I didn’t take
enough broom,” Pete said. “We just had to fight our way
back. The guys just played great."
However, that momentum was short lived as Fenson and
teammates Shawn Rojeski (Virginia, Minn.), Joe Polo
(Cass Lake, Minn.) and John Shuster (Chisholm, Minn.)
crawled back into the game scoring one in the second and
stealing singles in the third and fourth.
“We made a couple of good shots but had a little trouble
in the middle ends,” Eric said. “We kinda got a break in
the first, and I knew they’d come fighting back.”
The game ended in as dramatic fashion as it began but
unfortunately for the Baird rink they were not on the
receiving end of good fortune both times.
Eric’s draw to the four-foot slid too deep and nestled
in just inches behind Pete’s rock for the steal of one
and the win.
“I thought I threw it perfect and the sweeping was on,”
Eric said. “It’s frustrating when it ends like this.”
" He’s got a great shot.
I’ll give him that one nine out of 10 times,"
Pete said.
Jason Larway’s 2004 natoinal champion rink got back on
track after last night’s loss downing the Greg Eigner
team, 6-4.
“We’d like to be 3-0, but if we win two out of every
three, we’ll be alright. Every win is huge against this
field,” Larway said. Larway and teammates Doug Pottinger
(Eden Prairie, Minn.), Joel Larway (Mukilteo, Wash.) and
Bill Todhunter (Appleton, Wis.) scored three in the
second end to go up 3-1 but struggled to get much more
after that. However, they also were able to limit
Eigner’s offense and keep the lead throughout the match.
The Ben Tucker and Wes Johnson rinks had granite
everywhere in a barnburner of a match with Tucker
prevailing, 12-8. The two teams were tied 7-7 at only
the fifth-end break. Johnson opened with three only to
have Tucker duplicate that. Tucker was able to score
four the next time he had the hammer leaving Johnson
chasing but the Washington skip was up to the challenge
scoring three. However, Tucker didn’t let up scoring a
deuce in the sixth and a steal of one in the seventh to
create a deficit Johnson was unable to overcome.
The Brady Clark and Craig Brown rinks remain undefeated
after posting wins today. Clark jumped out to a 4-0 lead
after three ends and continued to build that lead in
defeating Craig Disher, 9-3. Brown also got off to a
great start stealing three in the second and a single in
the fourth to build a comfortable 5-0 lead. Ruohonen
scored two in the fourth but Brown’s team kept at it
scoring two in the sixth and four in the eighth to end
the game, 11-3.
The men are back for more at 4 p.m., following a women’s
draw at noon. The round robin continues through Thursday
with the semifinals Friday afternoon followed by the
men’s and women’s finals on Saturday. Live action of the
2006 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Curling can be
followed on the USA Curling web site at
www.usacurl.org, including via an audiocast and
end-by-end scoring.
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.
Game scores: Clark 9, Disher 3; Fenson 7, Baird
6; Brown 11, Ruohonen 3; Tucker 12, W. Johnson 8; Larway
6, Eigner 4
Men’s standings
Brown 3-0
Clark 3-0
Fenson 2-1
Larway 2-1
Tucker 2-1
Baird 1-2
Johnson 1-2
Ruohonen 1-2
Disher 0-3
Eigner 0-3
(30)
For more information: Rick Patzke, USA Curling,
rickp@curlingrocks.net, 715-344-1199 |
