US Curling Power Rankings – November 29, 2016

Scott curling,

Heath McCormick and Nina Roth came out on top at the Duluth Cash Spiel this past weekend in the second big showdown amongst US teams on this year’s World Curling Tour schedule. When the dust settled, there was some shuffling in the rankings, but not as much as one might expect.

Men

  1. Heath McCormick – Champion at Duluth; third title of the season (40-16 overall record); beat #5 Todd Birr in a B-final, #4 John Shuster in the playoff final.
  2. Craig Brown – Semifinalist in Duluth; 4-3 for the week;  beat #3 Brady Clark in a quarterfinal.
  3. Brady Clark – B-qualifier in Duluth; beat #5 Todd Birr in A-bracket play. (PW:4)
  4. John Shuster – Finalist in Duluth (first trip past quarters this season); beat #2 Craig Brown in a semifinal. (PW:5)
  5. Todd Birr – Made B-final and C-final in Duluth;  beat #2 Craig Brown in B-bracket play. (PW:3)
  6. Stephen Dropkin – A-qualifier in Duluth (second playoff appearance in three events); beat #2 Craig Brown and #3 Brady Clark in A-bracket play. (PW:NR)

Women

  1. Jamie Sinclair – Finalist in Duluth; beat #4 Jessica Schultz in pool play.
  2. Nina Roth – Champion in Duluth; beat #5 Cassie Potter and #6 Cristin Clark in pool play, #4 Cory Christensen in a semifinal, #1 Jamie Sinclair in the final.(PW:3)
  3. Cory Christensen – Semifinalist in Duluth; beat #6 Cristin Clark, #5 Cassie Potter, and #2 Nina Roth in pool play. (PW:4)
  4. Jessica Schultz – Missed playoffs in Duluth. (PW:2)
  5. Cassie Potter – Missed playoffs in Duluth; beat #6 Cristin Clark in pool play.
  6. Cristin Clark – Missed playoffs in Duluth.

 

As of posting time, it looks to be a light week on the docket for the US teams. John Shuster and Nina Roth will be representing the US in NBC Sports Network’s “Curling Night in America” series, to be taped Thursday-Saturday in Duluth, while Stephen Dropkin will be playing in the Thistle Integrity Stakes in Winnipeg, MB. With just a couple of weeks remaining until automatic berths to the USA National Championships are announced, the fight will be fierce for those spots and the ability to avoid the Challenge Rounds in January.

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