CHAMPIONSHIPS San Francisco, Pittsburgh reach top of podium By Brad Whitlock, U.S. Curling News writer
burgh vs. Cincinnati) came down to the final rock while the women’s game (San Francisco vs. Dakota) produced a repeat winner from 2015. In what may have been the best match of the
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entire week, Mark Robinson’s Pittsburgh and Jonathan Penney’s Cincinnati men battled re- peatedly for eight ends as Pittsburgh came from behind to beat Cincinnati, 9-8, with the outcome decided by Robinson's last stone to score three. Earlier, the San Francisco women’s team
wrapped up a repeat championship, beating the Darcy Ellarby's Dakota Curling Club (Burns- ville, Minn.) rink in a final score of 8-1. Te men’s championship game featured teams
who had already survived some hard-fought battles earlier in the competition. Pittsburgh had stumbled out of the gate on Wednesday with a loss in their first match to Houston. Te result saw them place second in their pool with a 3-1 re- cord. However, aſter the initial loss, they mowed through five opponents on the way to their match with Cincinnati. Cincinnati also had a bump along the way
when they lost a close match with their pool divi- sion winner, Robert Guydosh’s Lone Star Curling (Austin, Texas) team. Tat didn’t stop Penney’s rink from competing vigorously with a come- from-behind victory (8-7) in their quarterfinal game against Dallas-Fort Worth – last year’s Arena Nationals champion. Up to that point, Jef- frey Knott’s DFW team had coasted through the competition with four convincing wins. Te men’s final reflected both teams’ willpower
as a back-and-forth chess match unfolded. Pitts- burgh took a 4-0 lead aſter the first two ends, only to find Cincinnati get three in the fourth end. Ten, Cincinnati, without the hammer, put the pressure on by stealing an additional three in the fiſth end. Undismayed by the six straight points posted against them, Pittsburgh came right back with two points in the sixth end to tie the game at 6-6. Cincinnati, with hammer, scored two in the seventh end to take the lead again. Robinson seemed unfazed going into the
eighth end with hammer. Working the house to his advantage, Robinson had his hammer shot ready hoping for two to tie and dreaming of three to win. As his final shot made its way
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usacurl.org ))
he 2016 Arena National Champion- ship reached a thrilling conclusion May 15, when the men’s game (Pitts-
down the sheet and entered the house, the rocks rearranged just as Robinson and vice skip Steve Buffington planned – and three counters for yel- low showed themselves. Te Pittsburgh sweeping duo of Nicholas Visnich and Alex Visnich leaped into the air when they realized the result. Clearly thrilled, Robinson bubbled, “We
didn’t gel early on in the week. Mainly, I think, because our communication wasn’t there. So we sat down and talked about it extensively aſter our first game.” He then added with a chuckle, “We improved our communication so we at least knew which side was the best side to miss on. More importantly, though, we needed to com- municate to everyone on the team what the shot calls were and what the strategy was. Once we established the communication flow everything started to go better.” Te Pittsburgh men’s team now has their desired trifecta of medals for this event – a bronze, silver, and, now, a gold. It was a tough way to lose, but Cincinnati’s
quartet (Penney, Charles Newcombe, Darrell Brown, and Daniel Coviello) still could be proud of the silver medals they achieved for their ef- forts. San Francisco’s Walsh rink breezed through
their competition from the start of the week and continued undefeated as the event progressed and they prepared for the final game. Dakota’s trip to the finals was much rockier,
including two losses that resulted in Dakota plac- ing second in their pool with a 3-2 record. Never- theless, Dakota earned its way to the final game with quarterfinal and semifinal wins over Okla- homa City and Circle City (Indianapolis). Te women’s championship game was a bit
more predictable. Each team scored a point in the first two ends. However, leſty Walsh and her teammates (Kimberly Chapin, BriAnna Weldon, and Pamela Montbach) controlled the game from that point on, shutting out Dakota the rest of the way, scoring four points in the third end to se- cure the game and one each in the fourth, fiſth, and sixth ends for a final score of 8-1. While Walsh’s rink seized the gold medal
(again), Dakota (Ellarby, Sandra McMakin, Leslie Adair, and Lisa Nowak) received a well- earned silver medal in the competition. Ellarby won gold the first year the competition was initi- ated in 2013. Commenting on the strength of the San Fran-
cisco team, Dakota skip Ellarby said, “Tey were a strong team all week. We expected them to con-
2016 Women’s Arena Nationals Champions include (l-r) Pamela Montbach, BriAnna Weldon, Kimberly Chapin, and Sarah Walsh.
2016 Men’s Arena Nationals Champions include (l-r) Mark Robinson, Nicholas Visnich, Alex Visnich, and Steve Buffington.
tinue their good performance against us and they did. Tey deserved the gold. We’ll be back next year – if we’re not on dedicated ice.” In the women’s bronze medal game, Pitts-
burgh’s Jacki Temple rink gained the medal in their 5-4 win over Tamera Hoffman’s crew from Circle City (Indianapolis.) Te men’s bronze medal game was decided in
the sixth end when Chris Doremus’ rink from Houston scored three to pull away from Richard Lazarowich’s group from San Francisco. Te week had started before the curlers ar-
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