WORLD MIXED DOUBLES CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2010 – FROM THE PLAYERS:
Friday 23 April
Sean Becker, Team New Zealand (playing with Bridget Becker)
After winning their quarter-final game 10-4 against Italy:
“It hasn’t set in yet. But I’m really stoked...that’s a Kiwi word for awesome! I think it was a great game. There was one shot there in the third end that maybe changed the game. Apart from that four, it was a very close game, just as a lot of these games have been. One shot in one end is what it comes down to.”
Marco Pascale, Team Italy (playing with Lucrezia Laurenti)
After the quarter-final game against New Zealand:
“We didn’t think we’d get this far coming into the competition. But we had this goal to get into the top ten. When we qualified for the quarter-finals directly it was unbelievable and our goal was almost done! It was a tough game and we had problems getting the speeds and the lines. Our lack of experience and having to handle the pressure is something we maybe didn’t handle too well. But we’re happy we managed to play and score some points.”
Yana Nekrasova, Team Russia (playing with Petr Dron)
After their win against Australia 8-4
“On one hand, we are happy to continue the championship and we still have a chance to be in the finals, we have a chance of a medal. We were dreaming about that before coming to this Championship. But on the other hand, it’s a huge responsibility. Tomorrow will tell…”
Hugh Millikin, Team Australia (playing with Kim Forge)
Hugh skipped the first six ends of the world senior men’s semi-final between Australia and Canada before leaving that game to play the mixed doubles quarter-final against Russia. Final score 8-4 to Russia:
“The Russian team is exceptionally good. They throw their hits very well and we had one of those games – if you don’t quite get the angles right and you’re playing a team like Russia which can throw big hard hits – then they are going to get you! They made a couple of triples and a bunch of doubles against us and they just played really well. They deserve to win and we just weren’t on our game.”
“I did look over briefly to see that they [the Australian Senior Men] had blanked the seventh. They definitely had something going but Bruce [Delaney the Canadian skip] made a great draw to the pin to take the win. So congratulations to Canada. It would’ve been nice to beat them and be in the gold medal game, but at the end of the day now we’re in the bronze medal game and we’ve got to focus on that tomorrow morning.”
Yue Sun, Team China (playing with Zhipeng Zhang)
After their quarter-final game against Switzerland which they won after an extra end 11-7:
“The Swiss are a very strong team. We want to play them and learn from them.”
The Chinese Sun and Zhang played the semi-final in 2009 Mixed Doubles Championships:
“That was our first time playing a mixed doubles championship, since then we have learned more about the game.”
About meeting Russia in the semi-final:
“We want to do our best in each game we play.”
Irene Schori, Team Switzerland (playing with Toni Mueller)
Speaking after they lost their quarter-final game to China:
“That was very hard. They played very well. I think that game should have been the final. But now it’s the quarter-final. It’s been a little bit special here because many good teams are not here. I don’t think we’ll do this again next year. There are many other Swiss guys who want to play, it’s time for them.”
Martin Lill, Team Estonia (playing with Kristiine Lill)
After being beaten by Spain 8-7 in an extra end:
“I think that young Spanish team played really well. We should have played a little bit better, then we would have had a chance. I hope, at next year’s championship, we get the chance to play again and better.”
WORLD SENIOR CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2010 – FROM THE PLAYERS:
Friday 23 April
Colleen Pinkney, Team Canada (Women) – Skip
After beating Sweden 8-2 and securing a place in the Gold medal game on Saturday. Canada will play Switzerland:
“I think I felt that I definitely knew that we would be given a tough game today. Mentally, to get by that game over was huge. If you don’t get by that, you don’t get a second chance to get to the gold medal game. I think we handled the stress of that fairly well. We tried to stay loose and have a few laughs, so we’re very very pleased. The ice conditions were fantastic once again.”
“I suspected they [Sweden] would be all about the draw game but actually in the early part of the game they were hitting our rocks which did surprise us. We were expecting them to draw to everything. So I was little bit surprised and it actually helped us because we just kept hitting. In the second half of the game they did do what we thought and they did start putting up guards.”
Ingrid Meldahl, Team Sweden (Women) – Skip
The two times World Senior Champion and her team will now play the Bronze medal game on Saturday against the USA:
“Canada played a good game and had hardly any misses. We had a bad game. If something is going to happen to the better for us, then we have to do a lot of practice and we have to have ice that curls in Sweden, not straight ice, because it’s a shock to us every time we come to a Championship.”
Bruce Delaney, Team Canada (Men) – Skip
After beating Australia 3-2 and winning a place in the Gold game on Saturday where they will meet the USA:
“We knew it would be tough going in. Hugh’s a great player and has a solid team. We’re fortunate to get the win. It was a terrific game and there were a lot of good shots made. I feel for them coming out on the losing end because it’s tough to lose a game 3-2. But I’m happy we won!”
On the fact that he used to play on the same team as Australian Skip Hugh Millikin when he lived in Canada:
“Hughie and I curled together for eight years. So I expected as much gamesmanship as possible because that what he likes to do. He talked a lot out there. But I’m used to it and just focus and get the task done.”
Paul Pustovar, Team USA (Men) – Skip
After beating Switzerland 8-5, the USA Senior Men’s team heads into the final/Gold game. It’s the second year in a row that they have made the final:
“It’s just like last year, it’s unbelievable. We’ve worked hard all year to get back here and we did make it. This game didn’t look like that after three ends or so when we gave up a big three. And they had a chance to get another point in there but didn’t quite make it correctly. Then we did get a break when they hit and rolled out one and we stole two.”
Renate Nedkoff, Team Switzerland (Women) – Skip
This is the second time that Renate’s team has made a World Senior final after beating the USA 6-4. They met the Canadians in the Gold game in the championships in New Zealand last year and took silver:
“We had our nerves under control and remained calm and tried to play shot for shot with no hurry. We just tried to be precise with our weight, sweeping, everything. I think they played very well. They maybe have a different release of the stone. For tomorrow’s final, we are going to try to play as calmly as we did today.”
Ken Thomson, Team USA (Women) - Coach
“On the very last end, Sharon’s first stone over-curled a little bit. If we’d got the dead-on freeze it would’ve made it a lot harder to take two out. But because it came just off corner, it was angle-freezed, so it made the double a lot easier for the Swiss Skip who had a great shot with the double just to clear the house. Then the last shot was just a bit heavy and it rolled through. It was good for the Swiss.”
WORLD SENIOR CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2010 – FROM THE PLAYERS:
Friday 23 April
Ted Basset, Team Australia (Men) – Vice-Skip/Third
After the tie-breaker game against Hungary, which they won 8-2. They now face Canada in the 1 v 4 Senior Men’s semi-final.
“I think we were pretty lucky today, because Hungary are a good team and they came out a little weak this afternoon. We got a good start in the first end. We played really well and got three on them, and they just couldn’t come back. We played a very shaky second end and they actually had a chance to get three back but our skip [Hugh Millikin] made a triple and that cleaned up the end. After that we were pretty much in control.”
About how the team will manage this evening with their semi-final game scheduled for 17:30 local and Skip Hugh Millikin due to play the quarter-final of the Mixed Doubles against Russia at 19:30:
“We’ve been wrestling with that problem all week. That’s the main reason we brought a fifth person, because if Hugh has to leave, then we will have to bring our fifth person in.”
Andras ROKUSFALVY, Team Hungary (Men) – Skip
After their tie-breaker game against Japan, which they won 8-5. This is Andras’ second world men’s seniors in a row. Last year they finished 10th in the championship in New Zealand.
“It was very exciting because in the round robin we lost the game against them. We had to take our revenge here! In the first half it was very good because we stole three. We had a comfortable lead.”
WORLD MIXED DOUBLES CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2010 – FROM THE PLAYERS:
Friday 23 April
Anna Kubeskova, Team Czech Republic (playing with Karel Kubeska – her father)
After winning their tie-breaker game against Denmark 8-6:
“We were really nervous because we are not playing as good as we are supposed to. We’ve been playing together for three years so we should be used to each other. But my dad has had a knee injury so he couldn’t practice for a few months.”
“Denmark played really well. But the turning point was the angle-raise [7th end] until that moment it was really tight. If we didn’t play that shot it would have been one point for Denmark.” [The Czechs took four as a result of this shot].
Agnes Patonai, Team Hungary (playing with Peter Sardi)
After losing their tie-breaker game 8-9 to Estonia. Agnes attempted to tie the game in the 8th end and force an extra end but her last stone was heavy.
“My last stone was not good. We were very near but not enough. Two times in this game my last stone was faster than it should have been. The ice was really good but faster than I thought.”
Christine Svensen, Team Denmark (playing with Martin Uhd Gronbech)
After winning their first tie-break game against Austria 8-3:
“In the start our game was disappointing. We weren’t playing that well. But we hope that we can make it all the way now.”
Martin Uhd Gronbech, Team Denmark: “It might be four games for us - if we make it all the way through today and that’s as many as we had in the round robin!”
Liliana Schmitt, Team Austria (playing with Marcus Schmitt)
After their tie-break game against Denmark:
“We were very happy to play this game – but a little bit scared! But we’re grateful we got the chance to play again. But they played better than us. We didn’t make our shots in two ends which were really important. We got a good start but afterwards we didn’t do so well.”
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