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German curlers defeat U.S. men
By Julie Dockstader Heaps
Deseret News Olympic specialist
OGDEN — Curling fans at The Ice Sheet Wednesday saw all that define the Olympics — heart-stopping victory, heartbreaking defeat and the agony on an athlete's face when he realizes he just beat himself.
Holding the "hammer" in the extra end of the morning draw against Germany, U.S. skip Tim Somerville threw a soft stone intended to tap out the German's rock sitting on the button and break an 8-8 tie. The victory would have given the U.S. a 2-1 record going into evening play and handed Germany its first loss in round-robin competition.
But the shot went wide. Somerville dropped his broom in frustration, and Germany slipped away with a 9-8 victory.
"I gave it some extra ice to get by the guard stone, and it went straight," Somerville said moments later. "I have to be hard on (myself). At this level, it's not as much fun. We want to win. It's fun when you put a stone where you want it to be."
No one was more surprised at the miss than German skip Sebastian Stock. "It didn't curl. I don't know why. We were lucky. He had a good draw weight. It's a surprise."
Stock said his team is feeling confident. "That's what we needed, a good start."
Two other draws went into extra ends during men's morning competition. Finland slipped by Switzerland, 6-5; and Norway beat Great Britain, 7-6. In another draw, Sweden defeated Denmark, 9-5.
In evening men's play, the U.S. (1-3 in round-robin standings) lost to Norway (3-1), 6-5; Great Britain (1-3) edged Germany (3-1) by a score of 7-6; Canada (4-0) routed France (0-4), 8-1; and Switzerland (3-1) upset Sweden (2-2), 8-7.
In another heart-wrenching loss, U.S. women's skip Kari Erickson faced an almost impossible shot Wednesday afternoon at the end of the 10th end against Canada. After Canada's skip Kelley Law placed a guard stone above the house, Erickson failed in a double take-out.
"That was a tough (shot). Kelley made a great draw to close off the door," said U.S. lead Ann Swisshelm.
"It was tough," Erickson added after the game. "I don't even know if the shot was there. Canada is a tough team, and we hung in there. I'm not disappointed in our performance."
Law, whose team is now 4-0, was pleased, and not a little relieved, after missing her shots in two ends and allowing the Americans to steal two points and tie the game. Speaking of her last shot of the game, she said, "I wanted to come around and corner freeze. She didn't have the shot."
In another dramatic finish, Denmark (now 1-2) stunned Sweden (1-3) in the 10th end with three points and a come-from-behind 11-9 victory. Germany (3-0) defeated Japan (0-3), 5-3; and Switzerland (3-0) beat Norway (0-3), by a score of 7-5.
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February 14, 2002
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