GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA – In front of a boisterous, chanting crowd, the United States men's curling team defeated Switzerland 8-4 on Tuesday and was in position to qualify for a playoff by beating Great Britain on Wednesday in its final round-robin match in Gangneung Curling Centre.
The U.S. women lost to South Korea 9-6, but also take playoff hopes into their final match against Sweden.
The U.S.-Britain men's match began at 11 p.m. Twin Cities time Tuesday night, with the Americans leading 6-4 through seven ends at deadline of this edition of the Star Tribune. The U.S. team is skipped by Chisholm native John Shuster and also includes Duluth's Tyler George and John Landsteiner and Matt Hamilton of McFarland, Wis.
The U.S.-Sweden women's match was scheduled for 5 a.m. Wednesday. The Americans are skipped by Nina Roth of McFarland, Wis., and also include Tabitha Peterson from Eagan, Aileen Geving from Duluth and Becca Hamilton of McFarland.
If the men won, they would have a 5-4 record and force their way into a playoff for the medal round that could include several teams. Sweden was 7-1 while Great Britain and Canada were 5-3. The United States and Japan were 4-4.
The top four teams make the medal-round playoffs.
The U.S. women need help to make a playoff. They need to beat Sweden (5-2), which also had a match remaining with China. (Great Britain and Japan, which are 5-3, will make the medal round by winning their final matches.)
If the U.S. women beat Sweden, they would get into a playoff if one or more of those teams finished with only five victories in the round robin. China also would finish 5-4 by beating Sweden.
