WILSON/SAMSA WIN 2022 USA CURLING WHEELCHAIR MIXED DOUBLES NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
On Mar. 27-29, 2022, the Kettle Moraine Curling Club in Hartland, Wisconsin hosted the inaugural USA Wheelchair Curling Mixed Doubles National Championship.
The National Championship was established to select the team that represents the United States at the newly established World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, scheduled to take place in Lohja, Finland on Apr. 30 – May 6, 2022.
The new discipline of wheelchair curling welcomed five teams that competed in a double-knockout round robin format.
At the conclusion of the round robin, two teams sat tied for first place with only one loss.
The teams of Pam Wislon/Dave Samsa and Laura Dwyer/Shawn Sadowski met in the championship final to determine which team would advance to Worlds as Team USA.
Throwing yellow stones, Wilson/Samsa were first on the board with a score of four points in the first end.
Dwyer/Sadowski then tied it up after three ends before Wilson/Samsa scored another four-ender in the fourth end to regain the four-point lead.
Dwyer/Sadowski impressively tied up the game again in the seventh end, but it was Wilson/Samsa who held last stone advantage.
Wilson/Samsa played a nearly perfect final end, positioning two stones in the four foot that sat fully buried under guards. The setup forced Dwyer/Sadowski to play an angle runback to try to move into scoring position.
Team Dwyer/Sadowski under curled on their runback attempt, resulting in Wilson/Samsa not needing to throw their final stone of the game.
Wilson/Samsa’s 9-8 victory clinched the national championship title and has earned Pam Wilson and Dave Samsa the berth to represent the United States at the inaugural world championship in May 2022.
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.
