CHRISTENSEN/SHUSTER, ANDERSON/DROPKIN, WALKER/LEICHTER JOIN WIN COLUMN AT MIXED DOUBLES OLYMPIC TRIALS
Photo by Bob Weder
In Wednesday afternoon’s draw at the 2022 U.S. Olympic Trials for Mixed Doubles Curling, Teams Christensen/Shuster and Walker/Leichter found their first wins of the tournament.
Opening Trials with three consecutive losses, the 2020 National Championship Silver Medalists, Cory Christensen and John Shuster, were eager to get their first tally in the win column.
“We definitely got off to a tough start for sure,” said Cory Christensen. “We knew going into it that this whole week was going to be a grind. Every single game was going to be coming down to the wire. Every win we can get is good, so it's good to be in the win column for sure."
Christensen/Shuster took an early lead over Sinclair/Ruohonen, taking two in the first end, followed by two consecutive steals to put them ahead by five points after three ends. A one-point score with Sinclair/Ruohonen’s power play in the fourth end was countered with two more Christensen/Shuster points in the sixth. A final score of 7-1 gave the duo from Duluth and their fans in the stands their first win of the contest.
“Any time you get to play this level of curling close to home, it's so awesome to have a big event like this,” added Christensen. “Obviously, with COVID it's been a weird couple of years where friends and family haven't gotten to watch us curl a whole lot, so it's great to have everyone here watching close to home."
In addition to Christensen/Shuster, Walker/Leichter found their first victory in the feature game against Geving/Violette. Tied at 5-5 and facing a crowded house with the final rock of the game, Walker/Leichter made a draw to the four-foot to defeat Geving/Violette 6-5.
Persinger/Plys suffered their first loss of the event to Peterson/Polo in a matchup that was within one point after five ends. With their final rock of the sixth end, Persinger/Plys ticked the center guard they were attempting to draw behind, leaving an open hit for Peterson/Polo to score four, resulting in a 9-4 final.
Team Bear/Stopera started strong in their game against Hamilton/Hamilton, leading 3-0 after two ends, but a score of three, followed by two steals of two was enough to swing the momentum in the Hamilton siblings’ favor, giving them their third win of the tournament.
After ending the opening day of the tournament with two losses, Anderson/Dropkin rebounded with back-to-back wins, achieving a 7-6 win over Burchesky/Richardson in the afternoon draw.
At the conclusion of draw four of the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Mixed Doubles Curling, every team in the contest has at least one win and one loss. Five games remain in round robin play before four teams qualify for playoffs.
USA Curling is sponsored by Columbia Sportswear, Toyota, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Training HAUS, Brakebush, ISS (Ice, Sports & Solar), and Sitrin, and is partnered with IHG, Rock Solid Productions Inc., Laurie Artiss Ltd. – The Pin People, and United Airlines.
