US women's curling loses second straight after fast start - The Washington Post

BEIJING — It was a small needle to thread, but the chance was there. Level after a promising start against defending Olympic champion Sweden (3-2), the aspirant United States women’s curling team appeared poised to take the lead and positioned to earn a place among the best in this Olympics competition. Instead, it became the victim of a Swedish rebound in a 10-4 loss that saw the session slip away before the Americans conceded after the ninth end.

“This one really was a good match,” U.S. third Nina Roth said. “We really had control of the first half of the game, and just kind of missed out on some opportunities in the second half. But overall, it was a grind. We knew it was gonna be a grind against Sweden, and we’re looking forward to a rematch in the final.”

The U.S. (3-2) held the hammer — the last-shot advantage — in the sixth of 10 scheduled ends when Roth slipped a shot through a narrow lane between two stones to clear the button — the center of the concentric circles on the ice that resemble a bull’s eye.

On the United States’ following shot, skip Tabitha Peterson tried to navigate the same route, aiming to blast a Swedish stone and mount the Americans’ go-ahead attack. But Peterson, who has risen to lead the U.S. team since its 2018 eighth-place finish in PyeongChang, clipped one of their own as the stone sailed through the narrow channel.

Sweden capitalized on the imprecision, and Peterson again sent a stone to traverse the same path, hoping to clean up the mistake and salvage points on the final throw of the end. But its journey across the ice proved unforgiving and the rock collided with the Swedish stone forming the other shore of the channel.

“My two shots were two very, very tough shots,” Peterson said. “I had tough shots, and I just didn’t" make them.

The mistakes allowed Sweden to steal a two-point lead. They led by three after the eighth end, and six after the ninth, when Peterson’s final throw drifted past the button, allowing for a lead that was virtually insurmountable.

Despite the loss, the U.S. entered the 2022 Winter Games with aurous dreams and remains hopeful after a strong start in Beijing. The team was one of last two undefeated following wins over China, Denmark, and the Russian Olympic Committee, before losing Saturday to Britain. Switzerland’s record remains unblemished after a Sunday victory over Canada.

Following a fourth-place finish in Salt Lake City in 2002, the women’s curling team placed last in each of the next three Games. USA curling revamped its development program in 2014, expanding its staff and providing better resources. It finished eighth in 2018, but beat Sweden, the world’s top-ranked team, to win bronze at the last world championships.

Peterson, Roth, and Becca Hamilton — whose brother, Matt, helped the U.S. men’s team to gold in 2018 — returned from the squad that competed in PyeongChang. They added Peterson’s younger sister, Tara, and in 2019, reshuffled their lineup when Roth left on maternity leave. U.S. women have never won an Olympic curling medal, but the medal last May was their first at worlds in 15 years.

“We put in a lot of work in the last four years,” Roth said, pointing to the team’s continued use of a sports psychologist and its prior Olympic experience as reasons for its confidence in Beijing. “[PyeongChang] was kind of an eye-opener on what we needed to work on and we made some adjustments moving forward.”

Sunday’s win could help reigning gold medalist Sweden reset after upset losses to Britain and China last week. The result came after the U.S. men lost the third of their past four fixtures on the ice. The American women will return to round-robin play Monday at the National Aquatics Center to face South Korea, then Switzerland the following day.

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US women's curling loses second straight after fast start - The Washington Post
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