Press Coverage

2013 World Women's Championship takes center stage Saturday in Latvia
March 12, 2013
Olympian Erika Brown will captain Team USA as the Americans go for gold at the 2013 Titlis Glacier Mountain World Women's Curling Championship, presented by Ford Motor Company of Canada.

The world championship is set to begin Saturday from the Volvo Sports Centre in Riga, Latvia, featuring 12 countries competing for the world title. Brown (Oakville, Ontario) and teammates Debbie McCormick (Rio, Wis.), Jessica Schultz (Richfield, Minn.), Ann Swisshelm (Chicago) and Sarah Anderson (Broomall, Pa.) begin the 11-game round robin against Italy's Diana Gaspari on Saturday afternoon. The U.S. has only won the women's world championship title once - in 2003 when McCormick and Swisshelm won it in Winnipeg.

The U.S. women will compete against Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Russia, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland, which won the title in 2012 in Lethbridge, Alberta. Since the women's world championship debuted in 1979, Canada has won the title 15 times followed by Sweden with eight championship wins.

To read the complete press release, click on the PDF below.

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf iconpreview.pdf

2013 Mixed National Championship starts Saturday in Willmar
March 11, 2013
The Willmar Curling Club is set to host the 2013 USA Curling Mixed National Championship as play gets underway Saturday from Willmar, Minn.

Ten teams will compete for the national mixed title, March 16-23, at the four-sheet club west of the Twin Cities. The round robin action will get underway at 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday. The mixed championship features two male and two female athletes per team. This event does not lead to a world championship.

To read the complete press release, click on the PDF below.

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf iconmixed_preview.pdf

Washington men, North Dakota I women win 2013 Club Nationals
March 10, 2013
History was made today at the 2013 USA Curling Club National Championships as two new regions claimed titles at the Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park, Ill.

Doug Kauffman led his team to the Washington region’s first men’s Club Nationals title just one year after Em Good brought home the area’s first women’s title. Kauffman (Edmonds, Wash.) and teammates John Rasmussen (Edmonds, Wash.), Ken Trask (Seattle) and Liam Barksdale (Seattle) defeated Jeff Wright’s Illinois rink from the host Exmoor Curling Club in the men’s final, 9-1. The medal is an upgrade for the Granite Curling Club teammates, who last year earned silver. In the women’s division, Nicole Reiser (Bismarck, N.D.) led her team to a gold-medal victory, the first for the North Dakota region. The bronze medals this year were won by Wisconsin’s Mark Olson (Janesville, Wis.) and North Dakota II’s Beth Bohlman (Grand Forks, N.D.) rinks.

To read the complete press release, click on the PDF below.

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf iconfinals_rev.pdf

Finals set at 2013 Club National Championships
March 9, 2013
Four member regions will be represented in the finals of the 2013 USA Curling Club National Championships this afternoon at the Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park, Ill.

Washington's Doug Kauffman will try to win his region its first men's Club Nationals title while Jeff Wright will try to earn the second for Illinois. On the women's side, Minnesota's Norma O'Leary will try to win her third title and fourth for her region as her team takes on North Dakota I's Nicole Reiser rink. The North Dakota region has never won a title on either side. The gold-medal games will be played at 1:30 today.

To read the complete press release, click on the PDF below.

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf iconsemis.pdf

USA men finish 7th at 2013 World Juniors in Sochi
March 8, 2013
Korey Dropkin and the American men concluded its run at the Ice Cube Curling Center with an 8-3 loss to Scotland to finish seventh at the 2013 World Junior Championships.

Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.) and teammates Tom Howell (Brick, N.J.), Mark Fenner (Bemidji, Minn.), Alex Fenson (Bemidji, Minn.), and Connor Hoge (Southborough, Mass.) finished with a 4-5 record. They were coached by Keith Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.) and Phill Drobnick (Eveleth, Minn.).

"It was just what I imagined it would be. It was pretty fun, especially with the first time playing in a place like this - the Olympic test facility - was quite an experience that I'll remember for the rest of my life," Fenner said.

To read the complete press release, click on the PDF below.

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf icond17.pdf

USA ladies finish 7th at 2013 World Juniors
March 8, 2013
Miranda Solem and Team USA ended their journey at the 2013 World Junior Championships on a winning note with a 7-6 victory over Japan in an extra end tonight at the Ice Cube Curling Center.

This was the final game of the junior careers for both Solem (Cohasset, Minn.) and Vicky Persinger (Fairbanks, Alaska), who played in the second position tonight, with Cory Christensen (Duluth, Minn.) in at vice skip and Chelsea Solem (Cohasset, Minn.) at lead. Karlie Koenig was the alternate tonight with Mike Solem (Cohasset, Minn.) and John Benton (St. Michael, Minn.) in the coaching chairs. The team finishes with a 4-5 record for seventh place - the same record and placement as the U.S. men.

To read the complete press release, click on the PDF below.

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf icond18.pdf

Playoff field nearly set at 2013 Club Nationals
March 8, 2013
The women's playoff field for the 2013 USA Curling Club National Championships is set at the Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park, Ill.

North Dakota II's Beth Bohlman rink has clinched the top semifinal spot for Friday's playoffs as the team kept its perfect record in place with a 10-5 win over Oregon's Eleanor Robertson rink. The win improved the Grand Forks Curling Club team to 8-0 with one game remaining in the round robin. They will play North Dakota I's Nicole Reiser (6-3) Friday night at 8 p.m. Minnesota's Norma O'Leary rink and Washington's Em Good team - the defending champions - finished the round robin with 7-2 records and will meet in the other semifinal.

To read the complete press release, click on the PDF below.

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf icond8.pdf

Playoffs approaching at Club Nationals in Illinois
March 7, 2013
Five of the eight playoff teams are now known as the round robin of the 2013 USA Curling Club National Championships winds down at the Exmoor Curling Club in Highland Park, Ill.

On the men's side, Washington's Doug Kauffman and Jeff Wright's Illinois rinks are moving on to the playoffs despite each having two games left to play in the round robin. The two teams share the top spot in the standings with 6-1 records. Wisconsin's Mark Olson rink is 5-2 and could clinch a spot with one more win.

To read the complete press release, click on the PDF below.

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf icond5.pdf