Thank you for the great ice! Standings: The MEN: 5-1 5-1 Brandon Corbett 3-3 Korey Dropkin 3-3 3-3 Daily Pebble Mark Haluptzok 3-3 The official publication of the 2015 USA Championships Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 Heath McCormick 3-3 Paul Pustovar 2-4 2-4 Ethan Meyers 1-5 WOMEN: Pushing toward the playoffs 6-1 6-1 Aileen Sormunen 6-1 5-2 Kate Bert 3-4 Debbie McCormick 3-4 3-4 Joyance Meechai 1-6 Jordan Moulton 1-6 Kim Wapola 1-6

Under the leadership of Dave Staveteig, USCA chief icemaker, once again the competi tors have great Draw 11 scores (women): ice to compete on at this year’s Nati onals. The key ice team includes (back, l-r) John Kram, Eric Palmer, Aileen Sormunen 9, Kim Wapola 1 Shawn Olesen (a.k.a. David’s fi rst lieutenant), Kevin Madsen, Keith Turk, (front, l-r) Dewey Schmidt, Patti Lank 10, Jordan Moulton 4 Quenti n Way, Dave “Dad” Staveteig, and Jonathan Penney. Cory Christensen 7, Nina roth 5 Erika Brown 8, Joyance Meechai 5 Quinn Evenson (right) of Team Meyers had to sweep Kate Bert 6, Debbie McCormick 5 (EE) alone Tuesday aft ernoon aft er skip Ethan Meyers had to sit out due to illness. Emilia Juocys of Team McCormick Draw 12 scores (men): sports some feline apparel. Meow! Craig Brown 8, Dean Gemmell 3 Photos by Rich Harmer Brady Clark 7, Heath McCormick 5 Ethan Meyers 8, Paul Pustovar 7 Brandon Corbett 7, Mark Haluptzok 4 John Shuster 6, Korey Dropkin 5

Tweet of the Day Draw 13 scores (women): Team Brown’s Jared Zezel (above) focuses on the broom during Tuesday aft ernoon men’s round robin acti on at Wings Stadium. Team Brown and Team Debbie McCormick 11, Jordan Moulton 3 Shuster (bott om) are ti ed for fi rst place with 5-1 records. Kate Bert 9, Kim Wapola 3 Photos by Rich Harmer Aileen Sormunen 8, Nina roth 4 he view at the top has been about the Jared Zezel (Hibbing, Minn.), and Alex champion Nina roth on Tuesday night. Patti Lank 8, Joyance Meechai 5 same through six rounds as Olympians Leichter (Wayland, Mass.) share the top of Patti Lank’s team is right in the thick Cory Christensen 7, Erika Brown 3 John Shuster (Duluth, Minn.) and the standings with Shuster’s team at 5-1 with of the playoff hunt as well as her team T three games remaining in the round robin. The improved to 5-2 with a 8-5 win over Joyance Craig Brown (Madison, Wis.) remain tied for first place at the 2015 USA Curling National Shuster-Brown showdown will take place at 8 Meechai. Championships at Wings Stadium. a.m. tomorrow for sole possession of first place The top four teams in each division will Shuster and his team of and a shot at a spot in the Page 1-2 playoff. advance to the Page playoffs. Thank you to our great sponsors: (Duluth, Minn.), Matt Hamilton (McFarland, After Brown and Shuster, five teams share Wis.), (Duluth, Minn.), and matching 3-3 records for third place. Brandon Trevor Host (Duluth, Minn.) held on to defeat Corbett’s team defeated Mark Haluptzok, 7-4, 19-year-old Korey Dropkin with the final stone while Heath McCormick lost to Brady Clark, 7-5. of the game Tuesday afternoon. The Dropkin This afternoon’s results created a five-way tie rink had control of most of the match but two with Dropkin, Corbett, Gemmell, Haluptzok, great shots by Shuster in the 10th, coupled and McCormick. with Dropkin running the time clock down In the women’s division, three teams are to two seconds to rush throwing his final now tied for first place with 6-1 records. Cory stone, resulted in a 6-5 win for the three-time Christensen, who is preparing her team for Olympian. next week’s World Junior Championships, Brown’s rink suffered its first loss last night handed Team Erika Brown its first loss of the but bounced back to defeat Dean Gemmell, tournament, 7-3. Joining Christensen and 8-3. Brown and teammates Kroy Nernberger Brown at the top is the Aileen Sormunen rink, (Madison, Wis.), Sean Beighton (Seattle), which earned a key 8-4 victory over defending

wednesday.indd 1 2/17/15 10:56 PM // ian’s corner Seattle’s young

A panoramic view of the competition at the 2015 National Championships. phenom Photo by Lon Peper, Cedar Rapids Curling Club By Ian Strong, Daily Pebble staff writer urling is unique in many ways. In most sports you wouldn’t see Weather forecast: cold! athletes walking in the bleachers high-fiving fans during National CChampionships. You wouldn’t see older athletes still playing like they’re 26 again. In curling, where you can play the sport competitively Today: well into your later years, seeing a 15-year-old competitor playing with High: 14, snowy the professional men’s teams is pretty special. Low: -1 Luc Violette, a member of Team Dropkin, is doing just that. Luc is a Thursday: 2014 U.S junior champion and playing in his first men’s national cham- High: 8, snowy pionship. The young student started curling in 2004 out of the Granite Low: -12 Curling club in Seattle. He has participated in many bonspiels such as Friday: the U-18 Optimist International. He was the Washington junior curling High: 16, snowy champion from 2012-2015, and a runner up champion in 2011. He even Low: 12 won the Curtis Cup for sportsmanship in 2012 at Junior Nationals when Saturday: he was just 12 years old. Hihg: 32, cloudy Luc was introduced to curling in 2004 by his dad, Tom Violette. Play- Aaron Wald of Team Haluptzok stares down the broom during round robin Low: 15 ing in all these competitions and here this week at the 2015 U.S. Men’s action on Tuesday afternoon. National Championship is “a very cool experience,” Luc said. Photo by Rich Harmer I asked Luc what his advice was for young curlers just getting ready to start competing now. The Daily Pebble “Definitely stick with curling, for sure. I think it’s good to play other sports too, especially when you’re younger,” Luc said. “Finding good teammates is the key to success at a young age in curling.” Editor: Terry L. Kolesar For most young curlers a lot of their down time is spent not studying Assistant Editors: Five-time U.S. champion Patti Lank (center) is curling with her oldest daughter, Madisson, while her curling strategy, but rather studying algebra or other subjects. It takes a younger daughter, Mackenzie, plays for Team Christensen. Come curl lot to juggle school with curling. Rick Patzke, Amelia Young Photo by Rich Harmer “As long as you have good relationships with your teachers and with Editorial Assistants: your school, they should be flexible and work with you a bit more. That’s Ian Strong, Meredith Strong the key,” Luc said. “They’re all very supportive and proud. It’s really good in Manhattan n Photography: Rich Harmer Generation Gap to have them on my side.” By Jennifer Williams, Bowling Green Curling Club on the ice. Madisson says it is easier playing with her in March mom in some ways since she knows what she’s think- urling is one of the few sports where ing. Patti describes the feeling when playing with her multiple generations of family members daughters. “I put the broom down and say ‘Please Ccan play alongside each other. From juniors hit the broom,’” as a skip and a mom. Both Madisson ho’s the best on Wall Street, or in all of corporate Manhattan, to seniors, three and sometimes four generations and Mackenzie glanced over at each other’s sheet www.usacurl.org when it comes to curling? We’re going to find out at Chelsea Piers of family members can be on the ice. At this year’s this week to see how their game was going, but still March 12, and send the winners home with a cool new trophy Nationals, there are nine sets of sibling groups, a remained focused on their own game. W that will back up the bragging rights. Story ideas? Email the editor, set of cousins, and two sets of parents and their The Lank girls don’t often get to play together any- USA Curling is planning to hold the first Manhattan Curling Cup at Chelsea children curling on various teams. It is not often more as they are at different events now that Mack- [email protected] Piers NY on Thursday, March 12. This unique experience is limited to 20 teams that parents curl with or against their children at enzie is part of the USA Curling High Performance and includes coaching and instruction with Olympians and Jessica the elite level, but both Patti Lank and Bill Stop- Program. Their jobs as flight instructors are demand- Schultz, plus USA Curling Honorary Team Captain Vernon Davis, two-time Pro The Daily Pebble is brought to era are here with their children. Today, Patti Lank ing, and their students frequently have weekends Bowl tight end for the San Francisco 49ers. and her daughters, Madisson and Mackenzie, talk off. But they live together, work together, and curl you by this great sponsor: At its core, this is a fundraiser to help support America’s up-and-coming briefly about life on and off the ice. together. Mackenzie says that there are no feelings and elite curlers dedicated to putting USA back on top of the podium. But it Patti and Madisson curl together while Macken- on the ice when they play and, “We can separate is also an exclusive opportunity for you to bring your business partners and zie is on Team Christensen. When asked how the ourselves as players and family.” Patti is very proud colleagues out for an evening of camaraderie with just the right mix of com- girls made the transition to the ice, Patti says she of her daughters. As for the future, the girls say their petitiveness. put the car seat on the ice when she practiced and work in the aviation industry makes future plans in Along with dinner and refreshments, every participant will also receive their Luc Violette, at just age 15, is competing in his first men’s national cham- then they made the transition to the playpen as curling difficult to predict, but Mackenzie would like own customized carbon fiber curling broom. Get all the details at usacurl.org. pionship this week as a member of Team Dropkin (3-3). toddlers, and eventually were old enough to get to compete in the Olympics someday. n Look for the link to Curling in NYC. 2))usacurl.org usa Curling (( 3

wednesday.indd 2 2/17/15 10:57 PM