|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 21, 2005
Frontrunners headed for face off at
Olympic Trials
(MADISON, Wis.) – The three women’s frontrunners at
the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Curling all won
their fourth-round games this afternoon to improve to
4-0, but at least one of the three will fall out of the
lead tonight. The Cassie Johnson and Debbie McCormick
teams square off in the 8 p.m. draw, while co-leader
Patti Lank’s rink meets the Aileen Sormunen team (2-2).
Sormunen’s young squad (average age less than 18)
gave the more seasoned McCormick rink a battle this
afternoon, but never really had an edge. They led 1-0
after scoring with the hammer in the first end, but
McCormick and her fellow 2003 World Champions quickly
put up two points in the second and never trailed again.
McCormick made a nice raise takeout with the last rock
in the seventh end to score two for a 7-3 lead, and
Sormunen’s team allowed a steal of one in the eighth to
fall further behind.
A deuce in the ninth gave Sormunen’s team a glimmer
of hope, but the odds of stealing three or more points
in 10th end against these veterans were slim.
McCormick ran the opposition out of rocks with her first
shot for an 8-6 win.
Team Lank also won 8-6, over the Norma O’Leary rink.
Lank’s team broke a 3-3 tie with three points in the
sixth end to take control. O’Leary scored two in the
ninth to pull within two, but couldn’t get anything
going in the final end.
Johnson’s foursome had a close game going against the
Amy Wright rink until relentless pressure finally led to
a big break in the seventh end. Johnson made a slick
angle raise takeout with her team’s last shot of the
frame to leave Wright drawing against three points with
the hammer. Wright needed to catch the full four-foot
for one, but came up short and allowed the steal of
three.
Ahead 7-3, the Johnson team went for the jugular and
had Wright looking at three once again with the hammer
in the eighth. This time the three-time national
champion from Duluth, Minn., drew perfectly to the
button to thwart the steal and come away with one.
Wright’s team conceded after giving up two more in the
ninth, though, making the final score 9-4.
Caitlin Maroldo’s team from New York notched a
crucial extra-end, 6-5 win over the Katie Schmitt rink
from Minnesota to improve to 2-2. "It was a good, close
game all the way," said Maroldo, a chemist from
Rochester, N.Y. "Both teams made some great shots."
Schmitt and her teammates seemed to be chasing their
opponents the entire way, never leading but always tied
or within a point or two. Maroldo’s team held a 5-3 edge
going into the 10th end, when Schmitt came
through with the only deuce of the game to force an
extra end.
"She made a great shot in the 10th to
force the 11th," said Maroldo. "And her third
(Sarah Schmitt) made an awesome come-around behind a
corner guard to set up the two, completely burying it."
Mardoldo was unable to remove the hidden counter, and
Schmitt made a hit-and-stick with her last rock to score
the tying points.
The 11th was plenty dramatic, with Maroldo
drawing her first shot around guards to the top of the
button, apparently just enough to out-count an opposing
rock on the back of the button. Schmitt’s team
determined that Maroldo’s rock needed to be removed, but
in trying to do so, they ended up bumping it clearly
into first count, ending the game.
"Honestly, I didn’t look, but my team said we were
shot rock, so I just took their word for it," said
Maroldo. "This keeps us in the race. We’ll just stay
positive and keep plugging along."
Nancy Richard’s team picked up its first win of the
Trials today, blasting out ahead of the Lori Karst team
6-1 in three ends and carrying on for a 12-4 win in
seven. Richard referred to another team’s nickname in
summing up the victory: "Team McCormick has the Lucky
Monkey. We’re just lucky to get the monkey off our
backs."
"When you’re the number 10 seed coming in, you’re
just hoping to split with the top four," added Richard.
"We’re 1-3, so we didn’t quite do that. But we’re
getting a little better with each game. We still think
we have a chance."
The women return to the ice at 8 o’clock tonight,
preceded by another men’s draw at 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: McCormick 8, Sormunen 6; Richard 12,
Karst 4; Lank 8, O’Leary 6; Maroldo 6, Schmitt 5 (extra
end); Johnson 9, Wright 4.
Women’s standings
Johnson 4-0
Lank 4-0
McCormick 4-0
Maroldo 2-2
Sormunen 2-2
Wright 2-2
O’Leary 1-3
Richard 1-3
Karst 0-4
Schmitt 0-4 |
