January 4, 2006

Field set for 2006 U.S. Junior National Championships

Eight sets of siblings competing (See sidebar)

(STEVENS POINT, Wis.) - It's not the NFL playoffs but a few wild cards were in the mix as regional playoffs concluded this weekend for teams to qualify for the 2006 U.S. Junior National Championships.

Eight men's and eight women's teams will compete at the 33rd Junior Men's and 20th Junior Women's National Championships Jan. 28-Feb. 4 in Duluth, Minn. The winning teams will represent the USA at the 2006 World Junior Curling Championships March 11-19 in Jeonju, Korea.

The field for the Junior Nationals is slightly smaller than years past due to a lack of regional representation on the men's side from Alaska, Mountain Pacific and the combined At-Large Colorado/Nebraska/Texas/Kansas regions. The Grand National region was allocated an extra team on the men's side and Wisconsin and Minnesota earned extra entries on the women's side to fill the field to eight teams for each. Extra berths are earned based on the overall number of entries per region.

Highlighting this year's field are the defending women's champions from North Dakota - the Gillian Gervais rink. Also in the field is the 2004 junior champion Aileen Sormunen rink of Duluth, Minn. Sormunen's team added Molly Bonner (Virginia, Minn.) to fill the vice skip position temporarily vacated by Courtney George, who is the alternate on the 2006 Olympic women's team. The Sormunen rink looks to improve upon its 3-4 finish at last year's event. The Gervais team also changed its vice skip after Sarah Gervais aged out of junior competition (for ages 21 and under) and was replaced by Christina Schwartz (Fargo, N.D.). Bonner and Schwartz were teammates at the 2005 Junior Nationals.

2005 semifinalist Nina Spatola (McFarland, Wis.) is teamed up this year with fellow Wisconsin natives Megan O'Connell and Jackie Mueller (both of Medford, Wis.)-who played on a different team last year that defeated Spatola's team in the semifinals-and Jordan Moulton (Lake Forest, Ill.). Monica Walker's Massachusetts teammates look to pick up where they left off last year at Junior Nationals where the team finished 3-4. Kaye Hufman of Alaska moves up to the skip position this year as her former teammates aged out of junior competition. Hufman and Lacy Birklid, who was named to the All-Star team at last year's Junior Nationals, team up this year with rookies Vicky Persinger and Paige Sinicrope. Minnesota's Alexandra Carlson rink upset Sormunen's rink to win this year's Minnesota State Championship, marking this team's first national appearance. Rounding out the field are newcomers skipped by Katherine Stewart, representing Illinois and Miranda Schieber, who grabbed Wisconsin's second women's berth.

On the men's side, Minnesota's Kevin Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) looks to win his fourth straight junior national title this year playing for the Chris Plys rink out of Duluth. Johnson, who played lead on the Kris Perkovich rink last season, finished fourth at the 2005 World Junior Championships. A couple of junior national veterans fill out the field including Willie Wilberg (Green Bay, Wis.), who upset 2005 Junior National finalist Cam Delaney's rink at the Wisconsin State Playdowns Sunday to earn the berth. This is Wilberg's fourth appearance at the Junior Nationals.

Tucker Smith (Bismarck, N.D.), who played lead on the Zach Jacobson rink that advanced to the semifinals last season, defeated Jacobson's team this time around to win the North Dakota state playdown. Smith's teammates are rookies at the Junior Nationals. The five remaining teams in the field will be making their first appearances at Junior Nationals with the exception of Massachusetts skip Stephen Dropkin, who competed at the 2004 Junior Nationals. Rounding out the men's field are Jerod Roland's Illinois rink, Brandon Corbett's New York rink, the Sean Beighton rink of Washington and Eric Kortebein's rink - the first Tennessee team to advance to the Junior Nationals.

Here is a complete listing of this year's field for the 2006 Junior National Championships in Duluth (listed from skip to lead or alternate with hometowns):

Men's teams:

Illinois: Jerod Roland (Petersburg, N.D.), Grant Rahn (Lake Forest, Ill.), Adam Nathan (Minot, N.D.), Ryan Brown (Deerfield, Ill.), Coach Craig Nathan (Minot, N.D.)

Massachusetts: Stephen Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.), Jake Weisberg (Sudbury, Mass.), Ryan Hallisey (Medfield, Mass.), Nate Clark (Nashua, N.H.), Coach Keith Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.)

Minnesota: Chris Plys (Duluth, Minn.), Matt Mielke (Bismarck, N.D.), Kevin Johnson (Winnebago, Minn.), Tommy Kent (Anchorage, Alaska/Duluth, Minn.), Aaron Wald (Chisholm, Minn.), Coach John Lesnak (Chisholm)

New York: Brandon Corbett (Rochester, N.Y.), Erik Erlandson (Horseheads, N.Y.), Derek Corbett (Rochester), Kell Orlando (Seneca Falls, N.Y.), Coach Clark Raven (Williamson, N.Y.)

North Dakota: Tucker Smith (Bismarck, N.D.), Nathan Kitchens (Grand Forks, N.D.), Cooper Smith (Bismarck), Connor Gervais (Bismarck), Erik Jensen (Bismarck), Coach Roger Smith (Bismarck)

Tennessee: Eric Kortebein (Knoxville, Tenn.), Christopher Barber (Louden, Tenn.), Tyler Quinn (Knoxville), Ben Bidwell (Knoxville), Peter Zasowski (Seymour, Tenn.), Coach Cindy Kortebein (Knoxville) and Coach Eddie Shipstad (Seymour)

Washington: Sean Beighton (Edmonds, Wash.), Derrick McLean (Bothell, Wash.), Ian McLean (Bothell), Joe Purvis (Kenmore, Wash.), Coach Murray Beighton (Edmonds)

Wisconsin: Willie Wilberg (Green Bay, Wis.), Charles Taggart (Clinton, Utah), Andrew Campbell (Green Bay), Andrew Quigley (Green Bay), Logan Groover (Lake Forest, Ill.), Coach Bill Wilberg (Green Bay)

Women's teams:

Alaska: Kaye Hufman, Lacy Birklid, Vicky Persinger, Paige Sinicrope, Coach Leland Rich (all of Fairbanks)

Illinois: Katherine Stewart (Lake Bluff, Ill.), Hannah Elko (Cambria, Wis.), Kendall Moulton (Lake Forest, Ill.), Kate Kitchen (Hinsdale, Ill.), Kaitlin Kovach (Lake Forest), Coach Ann Swisshelm Silver (Chicago)

Massachusetts: Monica Walker (Sudbury, Mass.), Laura Hallisey (Medfield, Mass.), Jillian Walker (Sudbury, Mass.), Nikki Rossetti (Framingham, Mass.), Coach Karyn Cousins (Medfield, Mass.)

Minnesota 1: Alexandra Carlson (West St. Paul, Minn.), Tabitha Peterson (Eagan, Minn.), Tara Peterson (Eagan, Minn.), Sophie Brorson (Duluth, Minn.), Coach Nick Myers (St. Paul, Minn.)

Minnesota 2: Aileen Sormunen (Duluth, Minn.), Molly Bonner (Virginia, Minn.), Amanda Jensen (Duluth), Amanda McLean (Duluth), Coach Cyndee Johnson (Duluth)

North Dakota: Gillian Gervais (Bismarck, N.D.), Christina Schwartz (Fargo, N.D.), Stephanie Jensen (Bismarck), Stephanie Sambor (Bismarck), Coach Dave Jensen (Bismarck)

Wisconsin 1: Nina Spatola (McFarland, Wis.), Megan O'Connell (Medford, Wis.), Jaclyn Mueller (Medford, Wis.), Jordan Moulton (Lake Forest, Ill.), Coach Jim Dexter (St. Paul, Minn.)

Wisconsin 2: Miranda Schieber (Portage, Wis.), Megan Pond (Wausau, Wis.), Jacque Sirianni (Wausau, Wis.), Lauren Bjerke (Plymouth, Minn.), Coach Rusty Schieber (Portage, Wis.)

Side bar: This year's field for the 2006 U.S. Junior Nationals features eight sets of siblings, including:

* Sisters Monica and Jillian Walker (Team Massachusetts)

* Sisters Tabitha and Tara Peterson (Team Minnesota 1)

* Sisters Jordan (Team Wisconsin 1) and Kendall (Team Illinois) Moulton

* Brothers Brandon and Derek Corbett (Team New York)

* Brothers Derrick and Ian McLean (Team Washington)

* Brothers Tucker and Cooper Smith (Team North Dakota)

* Brother and sister Connor and Gillian Gervais (Teams North Dakota)

* Brother and sister Erik and Stephanie Jensen (Teams North Dakota)

USA Curling is sponsored by AIT Worldwide Logistics, AmerAust Technologies, The Hilton Family and Nike as well as by AT&T, General Motors, The Home Depot, and Bank of America through a joint marketing program with the U.S. Olympic Committee.

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For more information: Rick Patzke, USA Curling, rick.patzke@usacurl.org, 715-344-1199