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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 23, 2005
Fenson, Brown qualify for playoffs at
U.S. Olympic Trials
(MADISON, Wis.) – The Pete Fenson and Craig Brown
teams became the first to secure playoff berths in the
men’s half of the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for
Curling tonight at the Madison Curling Club.
Although Fenson lost to Brown in their match-up, 8-5,
their 6-2 records with one round robin draw to go are
good enough to qualify outright for Friday’s semifinals.
Four other teams are still in contention for the other
two spots, including the Scott Baird, Brady Clark and
Rich Ruohonen rinks, all at 5-3, and Craig Disher’s
team, at 4-4.
Ruohonen and Baird play each other in the round robin
finale at noon Thursday. The winner will advance to the
semifinals. The loser will be out unless Clark’s team
loses to Brown in their showdown, which would lead to
one or more tiebreaker games. Disher’s only hope is to
defeat the Ben Tucker rink (3-5) and hope for Brown to
beat Clark.
Even if the four semifinalists are clearly decided by
the last round robin games, tiebreakers could still loom
to determine a true 1-4 ranking. This is important
because the Page Playoff System is being used. Under
this system, the #1 and #2 seeds play in the first
semifinal, with the winner advancing to the final and
the loser playing the winner of a semifinal between the
#3 and #4 seeds to determine the second finalist.
As so many games have in the Trials already, Brown’s
victory over Fenson came down to the last bits of
granite. The game was tied 5-5 entering the 10th
end, and Brown held the last-rock advantage. Fenson drew
his team’s final shot to the button behind a long center
guard. It was only a quarter hidden, however, and with
other counters already in the house, Brown was able to
chip it out without worrying about saving the shooter to
clinch the victory.
"That was a pretty big win for us," said vice skip
Matt Stevens. "We were really patient that game. We’re
starting to come around a little better as a team now."
"They were playing a very defensive game, so we
didn’t force it," Brown said. "We were just kind of
biding our time. We had one or two opportunities that we
wasted, so in a way we were kind of fortunate to be in
the situation that we were."
Scott Baird’s team slipped back into the pack at 5-3
after being dismantled by Greg Eigner’s team, 8-1.
Eigner, a family physician from Fort Wayne, Ind., led
his team to two straight steals of deuces in the fifth
and sixth ends, after which the Baird rink conceded.
"The team played well," said Eigner. "You know, we
really respect those guys. They’re all great curlers. If
you let up at any moment, they can jump right back into
it."
Eigner and his teammates are out of the running at
2-6, but their record doesn’t show how many games they
lost on the last rock. "We haven’t quite been able to
hit on all cylinders this week, but tonight it
happened," he said. "Someone unleashed the dragon
today."
You can bet this team will show up ready to play its
last game on Thursday as well, despite the fact that the
contest against Wes Johnson’s rink (1-7) has no bearing
on the Trials. "This is such a great event, with all
these teams here, and great ice," said Eigner. "What a
rush. It’s hard to sit here in a way and be out of it,
but if we’re out there, we’re going to play like in any
other game."
Johnson’s team battled Disher to the last rocks,
losing 10-9. The Disher squad team took the lead early
with four points in the fourth end, and stretched ahead
8-3 after five. But Johnson closed to within 8-6 in the
seventh and traded deuces with Disher over the next two
ends.
Ben Tucker’s team had trouble generating any offense
against the Rich Ruohonen rink, giving up steals of
singles in the second and fourth ends and trailing 5-1
after six. Tucker managed to steal one in the ninth to
pull within 5-3, but Ruohonen made a double in the 10th
to end any further comeback threats, making the final
score 5-3.
The Clark and Jason Larway rinks also fought to the
final stones, with Larway holding a 7-6 lead and the
hammer going into the last frame. Clark had first and
second count around the four-foot when Larway threw his
first rock. But Larway made a perfect corner freeze on
the back rock to salvage the end and the game, winning
8-6.
Any necessary tiebreakers will take place Thursday
afternoon and evening, and Friday morning. The
semifinals are at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday, with the
women’s final at 10 a.m. Saturday and the men’s at 2
p.m. 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: Brown 8, Fenson 5; Disher 10,
Johnson 9; Ruohonen 5, Tucker 3; Eigner 8, Baird 1;
Larway 8, Clark 6.
Men’s standings
Brown 6-2
Fenson 6-2
Baird 5-3
Clark 5-3
Ruohonen 5-3
Disher 4-4
Tucker 3-5
Larway 3-5
Eigner 2-6
Johnson 1-7 |
