mAY 2012
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USA Curling ... Dare to curl
Washington women, Minnesota men clinch 2012 Club Nationals titles 2012 Club National Championships Women’s Round Robin Minnesota (St. Paul) 8-1 Washington I (Granite) 8-1 California I (San Francisco) 7-2 North Dakota I (Grand Forks) 6-3 Illinois (Chicago) 5-4 Washington II (Granite) 5-4 Colorado (Denver) 3-6 North Dakota II (Grafton) 2-7 Michigan (Detroit) 2-7 California II (San Francisco) 1-8
by Terry Kolesar, Editor
T
he Washington women and the Minnesota men captured the 2012 USA Curling Club National Championships March 10 at the Mankato Curling Club in Mankato, Minn. Em Good and the Washington ladies won the region’s first-ever gold medal at the Club Nationals as Good’s Granite Curling Club team defeated Shelly Kinney of Minnesota, 7-6. Good clinched the gold medal with a last-rock takeout to score three points for the win at the Mankato Curling Club. Good (Seattle) and teammates Jill Lamberts (Seattle), Jennifer Westhagen (Seattle) and Hannah Volkman (Shoreline, Wash.) upgraded to gold after a silvermedal finish last year. In the bronze medal game, North Dakota’s Beth Bohlman rink defeated California’s Gabrielle Coleman, 7-6. Kinney’s St. Paul Curling Club team of Amy Lou Anderson (Plymouth, Minn.), Theresa Hoffoss (Minneapolis, Minn.), Julie Smith (St. Paul, Minn.) and Jennifer Vieth (Hastings, Minn.) held a two-rock lead heading into the 10th end but guards got left in front of the house, which allowed Washington to pile rocks into the house. The lead changed throughout the game with Minnesota holding an early 3-2 lead at the break after Good was forced to make a takeout for one. Washington then stole two in the sixth end when Kinney inadvertently chipped in a second Washington stone on her final shot. Minnesota was forced to hit for a single in the seventh end to tie the game at 4-4. The St. Paul teammates put the pressure on Washington in the eighth end with Kinney drawing around stones in the top of the eight-foot to put a stone into scoring position. Good’s takeout attempt jammed and Minnesota stole a single. Kinney’s squad applied the pressure again in the ninth end and stole one more point when Good’s final stone wrecked on a center guard. The 10th end didn’t go as planned for Minnesota, however, as Washington quickly got two stones in the house behind guards that Minnesota had trouble removing. Kinney’s final takeout left her in scoring position, but the
Semifinals: *Minnesota 210 031 01x x – 8 North Dakota 001 100 10x x – 3 *Washington California
103 000 010 3 – 8 020 011 101 0 – 6
Bronze medal: North Dakota 002 011 201 0 – 7 *California 120 100 010 1 – 6 gold medal: *Minnesota 100 200 111 0 – 6 Washington 010 012 000 3 – 7 *last stone in first end
2012 USA Curling Club National Champions include Washington’s team of (l-r) Hannah Volkman, Jennifer Westhagen, Jill Lamberts and Em Good and Minnesota’s team of Aaron Wald, Trevor Andrews, Attituc Wallace and Josh Bahr.
stone didn’t get the roll they had anticipated and Good had an open takeout for three and the win. Bohlman and teammates Kyleigh Smith, Amy Bushaw, Dawn Zimney and Gail Ingwalson (all of Grand Forks, N.D.) fell behind early to California as Coleman (Mountain View, Calif.) and her team of Regan Mizuno (Menlo Park, Calif.), TC Altus (Campbell, Calif.) and Stacey MacNeil (San Jose, Calif.) took a 3-0 lead after stealing two points in the second end. North Dakota didn’t take its first lead until stealing two points in the seventh end. After limiting California to singles in the eighth and 10th ends, North Dakota clinched its second straight bronze medal. Two-time U.S. junior champion Aaron Wald of Minnesota led his team to a gold-medal victory over Seattle’s Doug Kauffman to win the men’s title. Wald’s Bemidji Curling Club teammates Trevor Andrews, Josh Bahr and Atticus Wallace (all of Bemidji, Minn.) earned the 9-5 win and their first Club Nationals title. This is Minnesota’s fifth overall win and third straight at this event, which began in 2005. Greg Wilson’s team from Illinois had to go to an extra end to defeat Roger Smith’s North Dakota squad, 9-8, for the bronze medal. After Minnesota jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after two ends, Kauffman
(Edmonds, Wash.) and his Granite Curling Club team of John Rasmussen (Edmonds, Wash.), Ken Trask (Seattle) and Andrea Callegari (Seattle) got on the scoreboard with a deuce and then stole a single in the fourth end when Wald attempted an angle raise takeout using a stone out in the weeds that didn’t convert. Wald’s team got back on track in the fifth end and tried to split two stones at the top of the rings into the house for three but settled for two to extend the lead to 6-3. Washington was forced to a single in the sixth but they kept pace by holding Minnesota to a takeout for one point in the seventh. Minnesota applied pressure in the eighth end and made Kauffman draw for a single to pull within three points again. Washington made Minnesota earn its single in the ninth and ran out of rocks in the 10th when Wald made an open takeout. The bronze medal game was back-and-forth as well with Smith (Bismarck, N.D.) and his Capital Curling Club teammates Curt Bradbury (Bismarck, N.D.), Matthew Shappell (Steele, N.D.) and Todd Ussatis (Bismarck, N.D.) taking the early lead. However, Wilson (Vernon Hills, Ill.) and his Chicago Curling Club team of David Durrant (Chicago), Michael Rane (Glencoe, Ill.), Jim Wilson (Winnetka, Ill.) and Colin Rittgers (Highland Park, Ill.) took control in
the second half with two ends in which they scored three points to maintain a lead. Trailing by two points in the 10th end, Smith’s rink was able to get the necessary points in the house and survived to play an extra end when Wilson couldn’t convert the double takeout. In the extra end, however, Wilson connected with a draw into the eightfoot to secure the bronze medal for Illinois.
2012 Club National Championships men’s Round Robin North Dakota (Capital) Illinois (Chicago) Minnesota (Bemidji) Washington (Granite) Colorado (Denver) Michigan (Detroit) Wisconsin (Superior) New Jersey (Plainfield) Utah (Ogden) California (Hollywood)
8-1 7-2 6-3 6-3 5-4 5-4 3-6 3-6 2-7 0-9
Semifinals: *North Dakota 100 10x xxx x – 2 Washington 034 03x xxx x – 10 *Illinois Minnesota
010 201 010 0 – 5 101 010 100 3 – 7
Bronze medal: North Dakota 200 101 101 20 – 8 *Illinois 011 030 030 01 – 9 gold medal: Washington 002 101 010 0 – 5 *Minnesota 220 020 101 1 – 9 *last stone in first end