Press Coverage

Howell advances to round of 16 in mixed doubles
January 20, 2012
USA's Thomas Howell moved on to the second round of the mixed doubles competition by picking up a 10-2 win this afternoon with Chinese partner Ying Yang at the Innsbruck Exhibition Centre Curling Hall.

Howell (Brick, N.J.) defeated Austria's Lisa Gisler and Switzerland's Mathias Genner and will now move on to round of 16 to take on the team of Korea's Eunbi Kim and Norway's Martin Sesaker at 9 a.m. Saturday.

"It's very different to have such different nationalities playing together - people who have never played together before or played this game," said Brigitte Brunner, who coached Gisler and Genner in today's match. "I have noticed there can be great differences between them. It is special. I don't think we can say we will win or lose - what is important here is the game. I have only German-speaking teams. They may speak the same language but there are still communication problems! It's fun."

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

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf iconyog_9.pdf

Three curlers move on to second round of mixed doubles
January 20, 2012
USA's quest for Youth Olympic gold is still alive as three of four curlers survived the first round of mixed doubles at the Innsbruck Exhibition Centre Curling Hall as the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games continued tonight.

USA's Taylor Anderson (Broomall, Pa.) survived an extra end in the final draw of first round action to move on with her teammate Duncan Menzies (Great Britain) to the round of 16.

"It feels great. Taylor played some super shots there that pulled me out of the rubbish a couple of times," Menzies said. Anderson was just as complimentary of her counterpart. "He did too ... in the middle he had these crazy takeouts that I didn't know what was going to happen and they all just shot out."

Anderson and Menzies defeated Eleanor Adviento (New Zealand) and Romano Meier (Switzerland) when Adviento came up short trying to draw for a single point and the win. Three of Team USA's athletes compete tomorrow in the second round. Anderson and Menzies will face Estonia's Kerli Zirk and Sweden's Rasmus Wrana at 1 p.m. Saturday. USA's Korey Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.) and Tom Howell (Brick, N.J.) also advanced and play at 9 a.m. tomorrow with their respective teammates.

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

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf iconyog_10.pdf

USA finishes 5th in team competition at WYOG
January 18, 2012
(INNSBRUCK, Austria) - It was a tale of two halves today as Team USA's quest for gold came to an abrupt stop in its quarterfinal match with Italy at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games at the Innsbruck Exhibition Centre Curling Hall.

USA's team of Korey Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.), Sarah Anderson (Broomall, Pa.), Thomas Howell (Brick, N.J.) and Taylor Anderson (Broomall, Pa.) lost 7-5 to Italy to finish fifth overall in team competition. In the semifinals this afternoon, Italy moves on to play Canada while Sweden and Switzerland square off.

"The first half we didn't really come in strong. The other team got a couple of lucky shots, and we didn't really make our shots," Dropkin said. "The second half we stepped it up with a change of strategy. We played a lot more guards and we started making more of our shots and tried to work our way back and didn't quite get it there at the end."

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

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf iconyog_5.pdf

Mixed doubles pairing announced for YOG curlers
January 18, 2012
USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf iconyog_6.pdf

USA to face Italy in quarterfinals at WYOG
January 17, 2012
Korey Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.) and Team USA pushed their win streak to seven straight as the round robin came to a close this afternoon at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games at the Innsbruck Exhibition Centre Curling Hall.

Dropkin and teammates Sarah Anderson (Broomall, Pa.), Thomas Howell (Brick, N.J.) and Taylor Anderson (Broomall, Pa.) clinched a playoff berth yesterday and will have a top seed for tomorrow's playoffs. In today's action, USA defeated China, 8-1, to run the table in the round robin for a perfect 7-0 record. They'll play Italy's Amos Mosaner rink (4-3) at 9 a.m. in quarterfinal action. The top seed from each ground plays the lowest seed in the opposite group.

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

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf iconyog_4.pdf

Team USA clinches playoff spot at WYOG
January 16, 2012
(INNSBRUCK, Austria) - USA's curlers have clinched a playoff berth after improving to 6-0 at inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games at the Innsbruck Exhibition Hall.

Korey Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.) and teammates Sarah Anderson (Broomall, Pa.), Thomas Howell (Brick, N.J.) and Taylor Anderson (Broomall, Pa.) picked up wins against the Czech Republic (4-2) and Norway (2-4) today to stay on top of the Blue Group standings. With just one game left in the round robin, the Americans have secured a spot in Wednesday's quarterfinals.

"The whole point of curling is working as a team," said Howell, who is a student at Saint Rose High School in New Jersey. "The key to a successful team is good chemistry, good communication and luckily we have been together enough to know each other well. Playing with the girls works out well, we've been good friends a while."

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

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf iconyog_3.pdf

Team World one point away from title
January 15, 2012
The 2012 World Financial Group Continental Cup is on the brink of history but in an unconventional way. Team World sits one point away from claiming the 2012 title after the conclusion of the women's "C" skins this afternoon at the Langley Events Centre. But with 55 point up for grabs, murmurs of a tie are in the air.

With no rule in place prior to today as to how the Cup is decided in case of a tie, it has been agreed by the Canadian Curling Association, the World Curling Federation, and the United States Curling Association as well as the respective team captains and coaches, that, similar to the Ryder Cup rules in golf, North America would retain the Continental Cup Trophy as the defending champion (from 2011). The $52,000 prize money would then be split equally among the 52 competitors.

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

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf icond10.pdf

USA now 4-0 at Winter Youth Olympic Games
January 15, 2012
USA's curlers remain perfect in the debut of the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games as Korey Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.) and Team USA picked up its fourth win tonight in round robin action at the Innsbruck Exhibition Hall.

Dropkin and teammates Sarah Anderson (Broomall, Pa.), Thomas Howell (Brick, N.J.) and Taylor Anderson (Broomall, Pa.) got past Korea's Minhyeon Yoo rink, 7-4, in the afternoon session with a come-from-behind win and then defeated Michael Brunner's team from Switzerland, 6-4, in the nightcap to improve to 4-0. With the win, the Americans now sit alone at the top of the Blue Group standings.

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

USA Curling
Terry Kolesar
application/pdf iconyog_2.pdf