Women's Worlds up next

STEVENS POINT, Wis. (March 18, 2009) – Debbie McCormick and Team USA are ready to prove themselves again as the 2009 Mount Titlis World Women’s Curling Championship kicks off Saturday in Gangneung, South Korea.

McCormick (Rio, Wis.) and teammates Allison Pottinger (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Nicole Joraanstad (Madison, Wis.), Natalie Nicholson (Bemidji, Minn.) and Tracy Sachtjen (Lodi, Wis.) won the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team Trials last month and also will be nominated to represent USA at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. First, though, they want to improve upon their Worlds finish last year when they went 6-5 in the round robin at the 2008 championship in Vernon, British Columbia.

The McCormick rink has won four straight U.S. national championships. At the subsequent world championships, they finished with silver in 2006, fourth in 2007, and seventh last year. McCormick and Pottinger teamed up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 2003 to win USA’s only women’s world championship title to date.

Live scoring from the World Championship will be posted online at http://www.wwcc2009.com/english/?mid=engScores. All times posted are local (14 hours ahead of Central Time Zone; GMT + 9 hours).

The American women will play in a round robin with teams from Russia, Canada, China, Italy, Germany, Norway, Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Scotland and Denmark (countries listed in order USA plays them in the round robin). The top four teams advance to the page playoffs on March 27.

Canada’s Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg is back to defend the title she won last year in Vernon after defeating China, 7-4. The American women (as well as the men) already have earned enough qualification points for the U.S. to participate in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Points accumulate at the three world championships held prior to the next Olympic Games.