USA stumbles to 0-4 at 2009 Women's World Championship

GANGNEUNG, South Korea - Italy's Diana Gaspari waved arrivederci to USA's Debbie McCormick rink as the Italians defeated the Americans 9-6 Monday afternoon at the 2009 Mount Titlis World Women's Curling Championship at the Gangneung International Ice Rink.

"I'm over-thinking things, and I need to be more positive," McCormick said. "I'm not feeling comfortable with myself, and we're missing critical shots." While her teammates Allison Pottinger (Eden Prairie, Minn.), Nicole Joraanstad (Madison, Wis.) and Natalie Nicholson (Bemidji, Minn.) shot one of their highest percentage matches of the competition, McCormick struggled in missing key shots - notably the eighth end when she flashed a double takeout attempt that led to Gaspari drawing for four points.

"Yeah, they play great, and I come out flat," said the 2003 world champion and three-time Olympian. "We just need everyone to play great together."

It was the first win for Italy, a team fighting for Olympic qualifying points, and the fourth straight loss for the Americans, who have an uphill battle ahead of them if the playoffs are a realistic option here in South Korea.

"I've never been in this position before," McCormick said of the team's 0-4 start. "We need to dig deep, get gritty and work harder."

The Italians started the game out right earning a deuce when Gaspari made a hit and roll behind the lone guard with her first that McCormick didn't remove allowing Italy to set up the deuce. Nicholson got her stone in behind the center guard to set up the second end nicely. Pottinger used her second stone to nearly freeze to the Italian rock in the back eight to put two in scoring position for the Americans. But Gaspari drew in for second position. McCormick put up the guard and got a chance to draw for two when Gaspari missed her tap-back. Her final stone would curl too much and just nick one of the guards, leaving the U.S. with just one point.

In the third end, both skips missed their final shots, resulting in just a single for the Italians to take a 3-1 lead after three ends.

USA got a stone buried behind a corner guard early in the fourth end. Joraanstad nicely drew in a second rock to the button behind the center guard. When Italy's Giorgia Apollonio tossed her stone to the back eight, McComrick asked Pottinger to follow Joraanstad in but she'd stop in the top eight foot. Gaspari then opted to put up another guard to take away the opportunity for the U.S. to attempt the runback. Gaspari would make a runback of her own to grab shot rock but McCormick would save the end with an angle raise to the four-foot for two points to tie the game.

After the Italians blanked the fifth end, McCormick would make a delicate takeout of the Italian stone in the four-foot halfway covered by the guard to lie two. Gaspari used her first rock to draw into the eight foot with an American stone behind it to grab the shot rock. McCormick tried to draw down to the four foot but wrecked on the guard giving Gaspari a draw for two.

Joraanstad got her second stone buried in the eight foot behind a corner guard to set up the seventh end nicely leading to McCormick making a takeout for two to tie the game once again.

The backbreaker in the eighth end saw McCormick miss both stones, with her final shot - the double takeout attempt - giving Gaspari a 9-4 edge. After earning just a single in the ninth, the U.S. was unable to set up the steal in the 10th end.

Up next for Team USA is Germany's Andrea Schopp rink (2-2) in tonight's 8 p.m. draw.

Game scores: Canada 9, Scotland 3; Italy 9, USA 6; China 7, Korea 6; Sweden 9, Russia 3

Team USA line score:
*Italy 201 002 040 x 9
USA 010 200 201 x 6
*last rock in first end

Standings:
Denmark 4-0
Canada 4-0
Sweden 4-1
China 3-1
Switzerland 3-1
Scotland 3-2
Germany 2-2
Russia 1-3
Italy 1-4
Korea 1-4
Norway 0-4
USA 0-4

Live scoring from the World Championship is available online at http://www.usacurl.org. All times posted are local (13 hours ahead of Eastern Time Zone; GMT + 9 hours).