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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 22, 2005
North Dakota men’s teams shine at Olympic
Trials
(MADISON, Wis.) – On the brink of elimination three
games into the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, skip Craig
Disher rink figured luck had to turn their way soon.
And, indeed it has in the form of a three game win
streak to bring the team back into the thick of the
playoff hunt. Disher’s latest victim was defending
national champion Jason Larway rink of Seattle, who
dropped to 2-4 overall with the loss tonight at the
Madison Curling Club.
Disher and teammates Kevin Kakela (Rolla, N.D.), Joel
Jacobson (Langdon, N.D.) and Zach Jacobson (Langdon,
N.D.) kept a lot of rocks in play in the team’s typical
fashion in dismantling Larway 10-5 in eight ends. The
team lost its first three games of the competition and
easily could have packed it in. Instead the team has
been knocking off the top teams left and right en route
to a 3-3 record.
“We’re hitting more shots and the others are finally
missing some,” said the 47-year-old farmer from Rolla,
N.D. “We didn’t play bad in those first few games except
the Clark game but now things are getting better.”
Disher, who won the national championship in 1997, said
the team still has some things to iron out but overall
is pleased with the way his team is playing. “You gotta
have draw weight or you’re not going to win … and I’ve
struggled with mine on and off.”
Up 3-2, Disher stole two in the fourth end to increase
his lead and leave Larway chasing. The turning point
came in the eighth and final end when Larway tried to
freeze to two of Disher’s shot rocks sitting near the
button but came up short. Disher then drew in for four
points to close out the game.
It was North Dakota’s night to shine as the Ben Tucker
rink based out of St. Thomas, N.D., upset the Craig
Brown rink, 7-5. Brown faced a deficit the entire game
as Tucker and teammates Owen Sampson, Ned Sampson and
Travis Kitchens scored two in the first end and stole
singles in the next two ends to start the match. Brown
started to climb his way back into the game with an
opportunity to score three in the fourth end. However,
his shot was wide and he had to settle for a deuce.
Brown stole the next end and Tucker came up inches short
on a draw for two in the sixth to keep the game close at
5-3.
Behind 6-4, Brown was forced to take one in the ninth to
avoid giving up a steal. In the 10th, Brown
put up guards to protect his shot rock which Tucker’s
teammates calmly peeled. Brown tried to hit and roll
behind his shot rock but was wide and rolled instead
into the 12-foot leaving the veteran Tucker with a hit
and stay for one and the win.
“I’m just glad I could hang in this game,” Tucker said.
“When we play our A game we can compete with the best in
the nation but when we play our B game the North Dakota
mixed league team can beat us.”
In order to play at the “A game” level Tucker said his
teammates have to feel pressure. “When I’m nervous,
pacing and upset we play much better. If I’m calm, we
get too relaxed.”
Pete Fenson showed why his Bemidji, Minn., rink has been
the No. 1 ranked U.S. men’s team all year long with an
11-3 victory over the Brady Clark rink.
Fenson and teammates Shawn Rojeski (Virginia, Minn.),
Joe Polo (Cass Lake, Minn.) and John Shuster (Chisholm,
Minn.) grabbed sole possession of first place with the
losses by Clark and Brown. A steal of four in the fourth
end broke open the game although Fenson seemed to
control the game from the first end out when he grabbed
a deuce. Clark was forced to take one in the second and
Fenson began building his lead with a single in the
third and a steal of four in the fourth. Clark tried to
get back into the game with two in the fifth only to
have Fenson close out the game with three in the eighth.
Rich Ruohonen’s Minneapolis-based rink got back on the
winning track with a 7-3 win over Greg Eigner’s Midwest
squad. Team Ruohonen stole singles in the fourth and
fifth ends to go up 4-1 and kept making shots after
that. The win improves Team Ruohonen to 3-3 and places
them in a three-way tie with Disher and Tucker for fifth
place.
Scott Baird’s Bemidji rink ran its record to 4-2 with a
9-5 win over Wes Johnson’s Seattle rink. Team Baird,
with Eric Fenson throwing last rocks, scored a minimum
of two points in each end they had the last-rock
advantage in defeating Johnson, the 2003 nationals
runner-up.
With three draws remaining in the men’s round robin, the
race to qualify for the semifinals is getting as
exciting as many predicted as the men’s field is very
competitive from top to bottom. The men will be back in
action at noon and 8 p.m. tomorrow.
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: Baird 9, W. Johnson 5; Tucker 7,
Brown 5; Disher 10, Larway 5; Fenson 11, Clark 3;
Ruohonen 7, Eigner 3
Men’s standings
Fenson 5-1
Baird 4-2
Brown 4-2
Clark 4-2
Disher 3-3
Ruohonen 3-3
Tucker 3-3
Larway 2-4
Eigner 1-5
Johnson 1-5
(30)
For more information: Rick Patzke, USA Curling,
rickp@curlingrocks.net, 715-344-1199
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