KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Bemidji curler Mark Fenner and his team posted wins in both of their matches Wednesday at the 2019 USA Curling National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich., including a victory over John Shuster’s Olympic champion rink.
Fenner and teammates Alex Fenson (Bemidji), Thomas Howell (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Korey Dropkin (Duluth) improved to 5-3 in round-robin play with a pair of wins.
Team Fenner began the day by handing Team Shuster, which features three 2018 Olympic gold medalists, its first loss of the tournament in a 9-4 victory. The group increased its winning streak to three games by taking down Samuel Strouse’s rink in a tight 9-8 win Wednesday night.
The Fenner squad has recovered from a three-game losing streak and finds itself in the playoff hunt with one draw left for the men’s division. The top four teams advance to Friday’s Page playoffs.
Team Fenner will meet Todd Birr’s rink in a 3 p.m. contest Thursday to end round-robin play. At 5-3, the team is in fourth place behind Rich Ruohonen (7-1), Shuster (7-1), and Birr (6-2).
ADVERTISEMENT
In the women’s division, Ariel Traxler’s team -- including Bemidji’s Emily Quello -- fell to the Nina Roth rink 11-5 in the lone women’s draw Wednesday. The Traxler rink sits in sixth place at 2-4 with one draw remaining in the round robin.
Traxler and company will face Cory Christensen’s team to conclude round-robin play at 10 a.m. Thursday.
