TEAM USA ADVANCE TO PLAYOFFS AT WORLD MEN’S CURING CHAMPIONSHIP 2022
© WCF / Alina Pavlyuchik 2022
Team USA (Korey Dropkin, Joe Polo, Mark Fenner, Tom Howell, and Alex Fenson) began their competition at the World Men’s Curling Championship 2022 last Saturday, but the preparation for the world stage has been years in the making.
Competing together at the highest levels in juniors, Fenson, Dropkin, Howell, and Fenner joined forces with two-time Olympic medalist, Joe Polo, to make noise in the men’s field.
The experience of Polo coupled with the athleticism, work ethic, and eagerness of the foursome have created a dynamic that has proven lethal to competitors.
“Honestly, I think this team has the highest ceiling of any team I have ever played with,” said third Joe Polo. “The work ethic of these guys is second to none and the way we battle for each other is relentless. I love playing with these guys.”
The team recipe has proven to be successful as the Dropkin-skipped rink clinched playoff qualification in its World Men’s Curling Championship debut.
Despite it being their Championship debut as a unit, Team USA was quick to make their presence known, opening the competition with two wins.
Sitting with a 4-3 overall record on Wednesday afternoon, Team USA was entering arguably the most challenging stretch of the round robin.
With matchups against Switzerland, Canada, and Sweden, the team knew they’d need to hit their stride to remain in the playoff hunt.
After topping Switzerland, the U.S. continued to build momentum, defeating the top-seeded Canadians in a commanding 10-6 fashion.
The United States then faced reigning Olympic champions, Sweden, on Thursday night.
It was Sweden that started the game with hammer, but a game of forced points and blanked ends kept the score tied at 3-3 in the final end.
Control of hammer throughout the entirety of the game gave the Swedes last stone advantage in the tenth, resulting in a 5-3 loss for the United States.
The United States had a 6-4 record entering Friday, the final day of round robin competition.
Needing at least one win in the two-game day to guarantee advancement into the playoffs, the U.S. defeated Finland 7-2 to clinch a playoff berth.
In the final game of the round robin, the United States faced Italy.
With both countries already qualified for playoffs, the game determined playoff seeding.
An 8-4 loss to Italy locked the United States in at fifth in the rankings and completed the playoff picture with the following teams:
Canada
Sweden
Italy
Scotland
United States
Switzerland
In the playoffs, two qualification games will be played (3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5). The winners of the qualification games will advance to the semifinals where the one-seed will play the winner of the 4 vs. 5 game and the two-seed will play the winner of the 3 vs. 6 game.
The winners of the semifinals will meet in the Championship final, and the losers will play for bronze.
The United States will face Scotland in the 4 vs. 5 game this afternoon at 4:00pm CDT. The winner of that game will play in the semifinal tonight at 9:00pm CDT.
Both games can be viewed on Peacock or the Olympic Channel.
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.
