Daily PebbleSunday, Feb. 15, 2015

MEN:Craig Brown 1-0Brandon Corbett 1-0Dean Gemmell 1-0Paul Pustovar 1-0John Shuster 1-0Brady Clark 0-1Korey Dropkin 0-1Mark Haluptzok 0-1Ethan Meyers 0-1Heath McCormick 0-1

WOMEN:Kate Bert 1-0Erika Brown 1-0Patti Lank 1-0Aileen Sormunen 1-0Kim Wapola 1-0Cory Christensen 0-1Debbie McCormick 0-1Joyance Meechai 0-1Jordan Moulton 0-1Nina Roth 0-1

Draw 2 scores:Dean Gemmell 7, Ethan Meyers 2Paul Pustovar 9, Brady Clark 3John Shuster 11, Mark Haluptzok 4Brandon Corbett 9, Korey Dropkin 4Craig Brown 10, Heath McCormick 3

Draw 1 scores (women):Kate Bert 7, Joyance Meechai 6 (EE)Patti Lank 8, Nina Roth 6Aileen Sormunen 9, Cory Christensen 6Erika Brown 8, Debbie McCormick 5Kim Wapola 10, Jordan Moulton 6

Standings: The

The official publication of the 2015 USA Curling National Championships

Curling is coming to Florida! Jacksonville has been selected as the site for the 2016 USA Curling

National Championships. This will be the first time that a curling

national championship will take place in the Sunshine State. The Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena will serve as the venue for the event, which will be staged Feb. 6-13, 2016. The arena has a 14,000 seating capac-ity with 6,000 being utilized for the curling

championship. The arena has hosted numer-ous concerts and major sporting events since it opened in 2004, including NCAA men’s bas-ketball competitions.

“We extend a warm welcome to a cool sport,” said Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown. “Jacksonville has become a premier venue and destination for a wide range of major sporting events, and we’re honored to have the 2016 curling national championships in our city. We look forward to hosting

Continued from Page 1: JACKSONVILLE

America’s top curling teams as well as their fans from far and wide.”

The weeklong national championships feature the top 20 men’s and women’s teams competing for the chance to represent the U.S. at the 2016 world championships.

Florida is currently home to one active curling club – the Panthers Curling Club in Coral Springs, Fla., and Jacksonville has a very enthusiastic fan base of people hoping to start a club in the area.

“This decision was made based upon a very strong bid from the various partners in Jacksonville, as well as many, many meetings between USA Curling and Jacksonville that have

convinced all of us that this is a good move for many reasons,” said Rick Patzke, USA Curling chief operating officer. “In the past year, curling has landed on island shores (Hawaii) and drawn thousands of followers to the desert (Las Vegas), so the seeds are sown for this to be a strategic opportunity to both grow the sport and the National Championships in a welcoming environ-ment.”

Beginning in 2009, the national championships have been hosted in an arena setting to allow for greater marketing of the competition. Since then the event has been hosted in Denver, Kalamazoo, Mich. (2010, 2015), Fargo, N.D. (2011, as well as 2013 for the Olympic Team Trials), Philadelphia (2012, 2014), and Green Bay, Wis. ■

Team Sormunen was among the � ve women’s teams earning wins as the round robin of the 2015 USA Curling National Championships got underway at Wings Stadium. Photo by Rich Harmer, USA Curling

Continued on Page 4

Next stop: Jacksonville

In 2014, 80 curlers from 28 clubs met to share ideas and informati on, celebrate successes, and plan for the exciti ng

future of our rapidly growing sport at USA Curling’s inaugural Members’ Assembly. In 2015, we hope to att ract more than 100 curlers from clubs across the country to the second annual Members’ Assembly, which will be held in Fort Wayne, Ind. Mark your calendars for the third week of October! Go to www.usacurl.org to learn more.

Sweeping up in Kalamazoo

Join us in Fort Wayne

TOURING KALAMAZOO

Point of interest: The Kalamazoo Walking Mall

The walking mall in Kalamazoo (above) is a true downtown shopping experience. Check out the one of kind bouti ques and restaurants that are only local. There are more than 70 shops and restaurants to choose from in a 10 minute walking distance.

Paul Lyttle of Team Corbett delivers a stone during the men’s Saturday evening draw at Wings Stadium. Team Corbett went on to defeat Korey Dropkin, 9-4.

Photo by Rich Harmer, USA Curling

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Team Bert: Kate Bert (Cedarburg, Wis.), Steph Jensen

(Lancaster, Calif.), Emily Anderson (Broomall, Pa.),

Sherri Schummer (St. Paul, Minn.)

Team Brown: Erika Brown (Oakville, Ontario), Alex

Carlson (St. Paul, Minn.), Rebecca Funk (McFarland,

Wis.), Kendall Behm (Bethesda, Md.)

Team Christensen: Cory Christensen (Duluth, Minn.),

Sarah Anderson (Broomall, Pa.), Mackenzie Lank

(Lewiston, N.Y.), Jenna Haag (Milton, Wis.), Taylor

Anderson (Broomall, Pa.)

Team Lank: Patti Lank (Lewiston, N.Y.), Maureen

Stolt (Plymouth, Minn.), Anna Bauman (Duluth, Minn.),

Madisson Lank (Lewiston, N.Y.)

Team McCormick: Debbie McCormick (Rio, Wis.),

Courtney George (Falcon Heights, Minn.), Emilia Juocys

(Rochester Hills, Mich.), Stephanie Senneker (Perry,

Mich.)

Team Meechai: Joyance Meechai (New York City),

Kimberly Rhyme (Green Bay, Wis.), Carol Strojny

(Mendota Heights, Minn.), Katie Rhyme (Milwaukee,

Wis.)

Team Moulton: Jordan Moulton (Minneapolis,

Minn.), Steph Bohan (White Bear Lake, Minn.),

Karlie Koenig (Oconomowoc, Wis.), Sophie Brorson

(Minneapolis, Minn.)

Team Roth: Nina Roth (McFarland, Wis.), Jamie

Sinclair (Manotick, Ontario), Becca Hamilton

(McFarland, Wis.), Tabitha Peterson (Eagan, Minn.)

Team Sormunen: Aileen Sormunen (Duluth, Minn.),

Tara Peterson (Eagan, Minn.), Vicky Persinger

(Fairbanks, Alaska), Monica Walker (Brighton, Mass.)

Team Wapola: Kim Wapola (St. Paul, Minn.), Brigid

Knowles (Minneapolis, Minn.), Jennifer Westhagen

(Seattle), Kelsey Ostrowski (Woodbury, Minn.)

The Field: Women

WantedThe Daily Pebble

Editor: Terry L. KolesarAssistant Editors: Rick Patzke, Amelia YoungEditorial Assistants: Ian Strong, Meredith StrongPhotography: Rich Harmer

www.usacurl.org

Story ideas? Email the editor, terry.kolesar@usacurl.org

The Daily Pebble is brought to you by this great sponsor:

2015 Nationals competitors Vicky Persinger and Monica Walker (l-r, on couch) were guests on the Lori Moore show on Friday at the WWMT studios in Kalamazoo.

Team Brown: Craig Brown (Madison, Wis.), Kroy

Nernberger (Madison, Wis.), Sean Beighton (Seattle),

Jared Zezel (Hibbing, Minn.), Alex Leichter (Wayland,

Mass.)

Team Clark: Brady Clark (Lynnwood, Wash.), Greg

Persinger (Fairbanks, Alaska), Matt Birklid (Seattle),

Nick Myers (Mansfield, Texas), Philip Tilker (Seattle)

Team Corbett: Brandon Corbett (Rochester, N.Y.),

Derek Corbett (Rochester, N.Y.), Paul Lyttle (Lynnwood,

Wash.), Jared Wydysh (Holland Patent, N.Y.)

Team Dropkin: Korey Dropkin (Southborough, Mass./

Duluth, Minn.), Tom Howell (Brick, N.J.), Mark Fenner

(Bemidji, Minn.), Andrew Stopera (Briarcliff Manor,

N.Y.), Luc Violette (Issaquah, Wash.)

Team Gemmell: Dean Gemmell (Short Hills, N.J.),

Bill Stopera (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.), Martin Sather

(Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.), Mark Lazar (Toledo, Ohio)

Team Haluptzok: Mark Haluptzok, Josh Bahr, Aaron

Wald, Jon Chandler (all of Bemidji, Minn.)

Team McCormick: Heath McCormick (Sarnia,

Ontario), Chris Plys (Duluth, Minn.), Joe Polo (Duluth,

Minn.), Colin Hufman (Seattle), Ryan Brunt (Portage,

Wis.)

Team Meyers: Ethan Meyers (Duluth, Minn.), Quinn

Evenson (Fairbanks, Alaska), Steven Szemple (Edison,

N.J.), William Pryor (Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y.)

Team Pustovar: Paul Pustovar (Hibbing, Minn.), Chris

Bond (Seattle), Sam Galey (Seattle), Duane Rutan

(Olympia, Wash.)

Team Shuster: John Shuster (Duluth, Minn.), Tyler

George (Duluth, Minn.), Matt Hamilton (McFarland,

Wis.), John Landsteiner (Duluth, Minn.), Trevor Host

(Duluth, Minn.)

The Field: Men

It is certainly winter in Michigan as the blowing snow and wind met the eager fans coming to watch the opening draw of the 2015 Nationals in Kalamazoo on Saturday afternoon. It looks like winter is here to stay, which makes the event icemakers happy. After all, when Dave Staveteig (chief icemaker) is happy, everyone is happy. What’s on tap weather-wise in the coming days? And, for fun, let’s see how this weather will com-pare for next year’s event in Jacksonville, Fla.:

Kalamazoo:Sunday:High: 8, sunnyLow: -6Monday: High: 17, ptly cloudyLow: 10Tuesday:High: 25, snowyLow: 8Wednesday:High: 12, snowyLow: 1

TK’s Weather Forecast Curling is truly a family affair and this year’s field, much like years past, is littered with family ties amongst the field of 20

teams. From mothers competing with and against daughters to cousins, this year’s field shows the close bonds formed from the great sport of curl-ing. Here is a snapshot of the family ties here in Kalamazoo:

Family TiesSiblings:• Tyler George (Team Shuster) and Courtney

George (Team D. McCormick)• Craig Brown (Team C. Brown) and Erika

Brown (Team E. Brown)• Matt Hamilton (Team Shuster) and Becca

Hamilton (Team Roth)• Tabitha Peterson (Team Roth) and Tara Peter-

son (Team Sormunen)• Kendall Behm (Team E. Brown) and Jordan

Moulton (Team Moulton)• Sarah Anderson and Taylor Anderson (Team

Christensen) and Emily Anderson (Team Bert)• Madisson Lank (Team Lank) and Mackenzie

Lank (Team Christensen)• Brandon Corbett and Derek Corbett (Team

Corbett)• Kimberly Rhyme and Katie Rhyme (Team

Meechai)

Mother-daughter:• Patti Lank (Team Lank) and Mackenzie Lank

(Team Christensen)• Patti Lank and Madisson Lank (Team Lank)

2 usacurl.org)) usa Curling (( 3

Charges pending against a member of the icemaking team for dereliction of duty. Iden-tify who this is by telling him in person that you saw his photo in the Daily Pebble. Editor will reward prize appropriately.

Photo by the Kalamazoo Police Department

Jacksonville:Sunday:High: 52, sunnyLow: 37Monday: High: 66, cloudyLow: 57Tuesday:High: 72, thunderstormsLow: 45Wednesday:High: 54, sunnyLow: 30

All in the family

Father-son:• Bill Stopera (Team Gemmell) and An-

drew Stopera (Team Dropkin)

Father-daughter:• Debbie McCormick (Team D. McCor-

mick) and Wally Henry (Team Meyers, coach)

• Kimberly Rhyme, Katie Rhyme and Bill Rhyme (Team Meechai)

• Stephanie Jensen and Dave Jensen (Team Meechai)

Cousins:• Vicky Persinger (Team Sormunen) and

Greg Persinger (Team Clark)

The Anderson sisters – Taylor & Sarah (top) and Emily (above, delivering) are just one set of siblings competing in this year’s National Championships.

The sound of bagpipes led the teams onto the ice as the 2015 National Championships got underway on Valentine’s Day.

Happy birthday to Aileen Sormunen (2/13) & Stephanie Senneker (2/14)

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