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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Feb. 20, 2005
“Elder” Johnson team wins
young gun showdown
(MADISON, Wis.) – Two teams of young guns who represent
the future face of women’s curling in the United States
fought it out tonight at the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team
Trials, and the future looks bright.
And that’s not to say that the Cassie Johnson and Aileen
Sormunen rinks, both from Minnesota, are not teams of
the present, either. Both entered the third women’s draw
at the Madison Curling Club undefeated. Johnson’s
team—with an average age of 22—emerged still unbeaten,
but that distinction wasn’t decided until the
second-to-last rock of the game.
Sormunen, who just turned 18 a week ago, guided her team
from a 2-0 deficit in the second end to a 4-2 lead by
the midway point on the strength of back-to-back steals.
But the 23-year-old Johnson, a 2002 World Junior gold
medalist, vaulted her foursome back in front with a
three-point sixth end. The game was tied 6-6 entering
the seventh, until Johnson made an open hit-and-stay in
the back of the house for two points and the lead for
good.
Sormunen’s attempted double takeout in the ninth netted
only one point, and with the lead and last-rock
advantage coming home, Johnson’s team was definitely in
the driver’s seat. Still, Coach Neil Doese called a
timeout before his team even threw a rock in the final
end to talk strategy.
“We just decided that going into the 10th we
all wanted to be on the same page,” said Doese. They
discussed whether to throw their first two rocks through
the house to keep the ice clean, or to try to tick
guards out of the way. They agreed to play the ticks,
and lead Maureen Brunt came through with what Johnson
said was her first successful one of the season.
When Schultz made a double peel with her first rock, her
team was in control for good. “Jessica came through with
a great double,” said Doese. “That was just an awesome
shot.”
With no guards left, Sormunen’s team had nowhere to
hide. Sormunen tried to draw her last rock to the side
12-foot with the hopes that Johnson might miss a
takeout, forcing an extra end. But her shot slid through
the rings and Johnson’s team didn’t need the hammer to
seal a 7-6 victory.
“We’re feeling pretty good right now,” said Johnson,
whose team is tied at 3-0 with the Patti Lank and Debbie
McCormick rinks.
Lank’s team defeated the Katlyn Schmitt team tonight,
9-7, and the McCormick rink beat Nancy Richard’s team,
12-5.
Asked what she thinks it will take for any of the 10
women’s teams to reach the playoff rounds, Johnson said:
“Communication and strategy, because everyone here is a
great shot-maker.” Doese’s timely timeout was a perfect
example of this.
The Amy Wright team used patience and positive thinking
to join Sormunen at 2-1 with a 9-7 win over the Caitlin
Maroldo rink. Wright’s team fell behind 4-1 after three
ends, but returned with a single in the fourth end and a
steal of two in the fifth to even things up.
“We got down a little early, but I just told the girls
to pretend like they had just popped a deuce on us and
we were still playing well, which we really weren’t,”
remarked Wright. “We came back with a steal and stayed
right in it from there.”
Maroldo’s team still seemed to hold an edge late in the
game, with the score tied 6-6 after eight. But another
steal, this time of three points, turned the tide in
Team Wright’s favor for good. Maroldo’s attempted draw
to the eight-foot for one in the fateful ninth end found
a fast track in the ice and sailed out of count.
Wright’s team played the 10th end clean and
won 9-7.
“Looking at it overall, we knew we had to at least split
our games today, and after losing this morning to
Sormunen, this game was pivotal to keep us in the hunt,”
said Wright. “I look at it as there are two types of
games: those that you should win and those that you
could win. If you take care of the games that you should
win, then you’ll probably see your way into the
semifinals.”
Norma O’Leary’s team carded its first victory of the
Trials with an 8-3 win over the Lori Karst rink in seven
ends. The O’Leary side built a 6-4 lead in the first
three ends, stealing four points in the third. In the
seventh, Karst’s team had a chance to get back in the
game after O’Leary somewhat unwittingly let the end get
offensive. Nearly all of the rocks on the sheet were in
play, and Karst had a difficult but possible double or
even triple takeout to score four or five. The rock just
missed its mark, however, and Karst wound up with a
single point instead, after which her team shook hands.
“We’re throwing the rock well,” said O’Leary. “We got a
few more in play than we should have in the seventh end,
but I had committed early. We were sitting two so I
threw up a guard. In hindsight, I should have started
peeling.”
It was a win nevertheless for the first-year skip, 43,
who plays a lot of golf and likens her team’s position
at 1-2 to how she likes to approach golf tournaments. “I
don’t like to be in the lead early,” she said.
The women will be back in action at noon and 8 p.m.
Monday, with the men at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. 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: Wright 9, Maroldo 7; Lank 9, Schmitt
7; Johnson 7, Sormunen 6; O’Leary 8, Karst 3; McCormick
12, Richard 5.
Women’s standings
Johnson 3-0
Lank 3-0
McCormick 3-0
Sormunen 2-1
Wright 2-1
Maroldo 1-2
O’Leary 1-2
Karst 0-3
Richard 0-3
Schmitt 0-3
(30)
For more information: Rick Patzke, USA Curling,
rickp@curlingrocks.net, 715-344-1199
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