Team North America claws back into Cup race

PENTICTON, B.C. — After a tough morning at the South Okanagan Events Centre, Team North America earned back some of its confidence in Thursday afternoon mixed doubles action at the 2013 World Financial Group Continental Cup, presented by Monsanto. Team World took 2.5 of a possible three points in the opening women’s team games draw to open curling’s version of the Ryder Cup, but North America was able to win one game and tie another in the mixed doubles draw. As a result, Team World leads 4-2 going into a men’s team draw that begins Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (all times PST, broadcast by TSN). Leading the charge was the Team North America pairing of John Morris (the third for Kevin Martin’s team from Edmonton, Alta.) and Kaitlyn Lawes (the third for Jennifer Jones’s team from Winnipeg, Man.). That duo cruised to an emphatic 10-3 victory over the Swedish pairing of Niklas Edin (skip, Karlstad) and Christina Bertrup (the second for Margaretha Sigridsson’s team from Skellefteå). “Team World had a good start this morning, so we were feeling the heat to get North America back in it,” said Morris. “Mixed doubles is a lot of fun, and we knew that we had a good shot at it against some good Swedes.” Two other mixed doubles games came down to the last rock. Team North America’s Heather Nedohin (skip, Edmonton, Alta.), teaming with Dean Gemmell (the lead for Heath McCormick’s team from Ardsley-on-Hudson, N.Y.), made a cold draw to bite the button to salvage a 5-5 tie with the Scottish pairing of Eve Muirhead (skip, Dunkeld) and Michael Goodfellow (the lead for Tom Brewster’s Aberdeen foursome), earning a half-point for the North Americans. “Every game you go out there as a team you want to gain points.” said Nedohin after the clutch shot. “We’ve been told, and it’s obvious, that half-points are great, too. So a tie is good. We were celebrating Jen’s tie this morning (Jennifer Jones made a crucial draw to tie a game in the morning draw) and we will go away with a point and a half this afternoon. Every point, every half-point is important.” In the other game, Team North America’s Allison Pottinger (skip, St. Paul, Minn.) missed on a draw to the four-foot for the victory, giving a steal of two and an 8-7 win to Team World’s Christoffer Svae (second for Thomas Ulsrud’s team from Oslo, Norway) and Carmen Schäfer (the third for Mirjam Ott’s team from Davos, Switzerland). “It was a really tight, close game,” said Schäfer. “It could have gone both ways but we were lucky in the end.” There will be 15 more traditional team games (nine men’s six nine women’s), each worth one point for a win, and one-half point for a tie. All games are eight ends and there are no extra ends. For the six mixed doubles and six singles matches, one point will also be awarded for each victory, one-half point if tied. The six skins games (two mixed, two women’s and two men’s) on Sunday will offer a total of five points per game, with the first six ends of each game worth one-half point each, while the seventh and eighth ends are worth one point each. In skins, a count of at least two with last rock or a steal is required in order to win an end. Otherwise, the points carry over. The winning side receives $52,000 Cdn ($2,000 per member, including captain and coach), while the losing side gets $26,000 ($1,000 per member, including captain and coach). As well, the side that generates the highest points total from the final three skins games will receive an additional $13,000 ($500 per player, plus captain and coach). Each side has won four Continental Cups; Team World prevailed last year in Langley, B.C. httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFwooHw8Sng Here is the remainder of schedule for the first three days of the competition; matchups for the six skins-format games that could decide matters on Sunday will be determined when the respective coaches and captains (coach Rick Lang of Thunder Bay, Ont., and captain Kelley Law of Coquitlam B.C., for Team North America; coach David Hay of Perth, Scotland, and captain Peja Lindholm of Östersund, Sweden for Team World) meet on Saturday afternoon. THURSDAY, Jan. 10 1 p.m. PST Mixed Doubles Sheet A: Team North America/Allison Pottinger (St. Paul CC, St. Paul, Minn.) and Marc Kennedy (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Carmen Schäfer (CC Davos, Davos Switzerland) and Christoffer Svae (Snarøen CC, Oslo, Norway) Sheet B: Team North America/Heather Nedohin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) and Dean Gemmell (Ardsley CC, Ardsley-on-Hudson, N.Y.) vs. Eve Muirhead (Dunkeld CC, Scotland) and Michael Goodfellow (Club Aberdeen, Scotland) Sheet C: Team North America/Kaitlyn Lawes (St. Vital CC, Winnipeg, Man.) and John Morris (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Christina Bertrup (Skelllefteå CK, Skellefteå, Sweden) and Niklas Edin (Karlstads CK, Karlstad, Sweden) 6:30 p.m. PST Men’s Team Sheet A: Team North America/Heath McCormick (Ardsley CC, Ardsley-on-Hudson, N.Y.) vs. Team World/Niklas Edin (Karlstads CK, Karlstad, Sweden) Sheet B: Team North America/Glenn Howard (Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater, Ont.) vs. Team World/Thomas Ulsrud (Snarøen CC, Oslo, Norway) Sheet C: Team North America/Kevin Martin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Tom Brewster (Club Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland) FRIDAY, Jan. 11 8:30 a.m. PST Women’s Team Sheet A: Team North America/Heather Nedohin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Margaretha Sigfridsson (Skellefteå CK, Skellefteå, Sweden) Sheet B: Team North America/Jennifer Jones (St. Vital CC, Winnipeg, Man.) vs. Team World/Mirjam Ott (CC Davos, Davos, Switzerland) Sheet C: Team North America/Allison Pottinger (St. Paul CC, St. Paul, Minn.) vs. Team World/Eve Muirhead (Dunkeld CC, Dunkeld, Scotland) 1 p.m. PST Singles Women Sheet A: Team North America/Heather Nedohin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Eve Muirhead (Dunkeld CC, Dunkeld, Scotland) Sheet B: Team North America/Jennifer Jones (St. Vital CC, Winnipeg, Man.) vs. Team World/Mirjam Ott (CC Davos, Davos, Switzerland) Sheet C: Team North America/Allison Pottinger (St. Paul CC, St. Paul, Minn.) vs. Team World/Margaretha Sigfridsson (Skellefteå CK, Skellefteå, Sweden) Men Sheet A: Team North America/Heath McCormick (Ardsley CC, Ardsley-on-Hudson, N.Y.) vs. Team World/Tom Brewster (Club Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland) Sheet B: Team North America/Glenn Howard (Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater, Ont.) vs. Team World/Thomas Ulsrud (Snarøen CC, Oslo, Norway) Sheet C: Team North America/Kevin Martin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Niklas Edin (Karlstads CK, Karlstads, Sweden) 6:30 p.m. PST Men’s Team Sheet A: Team North America/Glenn Howard (Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater, Ont.) vs. Team World/Tom Brewster (Club Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland) Sheet B: Team North America/Kevin Martin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Niklas Edin (Karlstads CK, Karlstad, Sweden) Sheet C: Team North America/Heath McCormick (Ardsley CC, Ardsley-on-Hudson, N.Y.) vs. Team World/Thomas Ulsrud (Snarøen CC, Oslo, Norway) SATURDAY, Jan. 12 9 a.m. PST Mixed Doubles Sheet A: Team North America/Natalie Nicholson (St. Paul CC, St. Paul, Minn.) and Glenn Howard (Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater, Ont.) vs. Team World/Anna Sloan (Dunkeld CC, Dunkeld, Scotland) and Greg Drummond (Club Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland) Sheet B: Team North America/Jennifer Jones (St. Vital CC, Winnipeg, Man.) and Brent Laing (Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater, Ont.) vs. Team World/Carmen Kung (CC Davos, Davos, Switzerland) and Torger Nergård (Snarōen CC, Oslo, Norway) Sheet C: Team North America/Jessica Mair (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) and Heath McCormick (Ardsley CC, Ardsley-on-Hudson, N.Y.) vs. Team World/Maria Prytz (Skellefteå CK, Skellefteå, Sweden) and Sebastian Kraupp (Karlstads CK, Karlstad, Sweden) 1:30 p.m. PST Women’s Team Sheet A: Team North America/Jennifer Jones (St. Vital CC, Winnipeg, Man.) vs. Team World/Eve Muirhead (Dunkeld CC, Dunkeld, Scotland) Sheet B: Team North America/Allison Pottinger (St. Paul CC, St. Paul, Minn.) vs. Team World/Margaretha Sigfridsson (Skellefteå CK, Skellefteå, Sweden) Sheet C: Team North America/Heather Nedohin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Mirjam Ott (CC Davos, Davos, Switzerland) 6:30 p.m. Men’s Team Sheet A: Team North America/Kevin Martin (Saville Sports Centre, Edmonton, Alta.) vs. Team World/Thomas Ulsrud (Snarøen CC, Oslo, Norway) Sheet B: Team North America/Heath McCormick (Ardsley CC, Ardsley-on-Hudson, N.Y.) vs. Team World/Tom Brewster (Club Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland) Sheet C: Team North America/Glenn Howard (Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater, Ont.) vs. Team World/Niklas Edin (Karlstads CK, Karlstad, Sweden) [flickr-gallery mode=”tag” tags=”2013concupd2″ tag_mode=”all”] Other information: • For ticket and other event information, visit www.curling.ca/championships/continentalcup. • TSN, the exclusive television network for the Canadian Curling Association’s Season of Champions, and French language sports network RDS/RDS2 will provide complete coverage of this year’s World Financial Group Continental Cup, from the Opening draw (Women’s Team games) on Thursday morning through to and including the final Skins games on Sunday. • The World Financial Group Continental Cup is a joint venture of the Canadian Curling Association, United States Curling Association and World Curling Federation. • Media inquiries for other story ideas can be directed to: Al Cameron Director, Communication and Media Relations Canadian Curling Association 403-463-5500 [email protected] www.curling.ca