With this afternoon's win, Lemke and teammates Jackie Lemke (Medford, Wis.), Kroy Nernberger (Medford, Wis.) and Sydney Johnson (Portage, Wis.) improved to 5-0. Alaska, Maryland and Washington are tied for second place with 3-2 records. With two games remaining in the round robin, the worst Wisconsin can do is 5-2. The will play Washington tonight and Alaska tomorrow to finish the round robin.

This was the first game in which Wisconsin played a full 10 ends after cruising through its first four games. Tied 3-3 after five ends, Wisconsin put it into drive in the seventh with a deuce and a steal of three in the following end. Maryland scored just one in the ninth and stole a single in the 10th to end the game and drop to 3-2 in the standings.

Washington's Brady Clark rink kept its playoff hopes alive with a decisive 6-2 win over Alaska's Steve Shuttleworth team. Neither team scored more than one point per end in this match but Washington was able to capitalize on Alaskan mistakes to steal three ends. That was the difference in this match as Alaska opted to shake hands after eight ends.

Ohio's Robb Borland and California's Lyle Sieg rink each posted wins today as they teeter on the brink of playoff elimination with 2-3 records. Borland (Kent, Ohio) and teammates Elizabeth Pauna (Liberty, Ind.), Darryl Younggren (Grafton, N.D.) and Jean Borland (Kent, Ohio) held off a late rally by Minnesota's Ron Gervais rink to escape with a 7-6 victory. Minnesota jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two ends but Ohio came storming back with a deuce in the third and a steal of two in the fourth to take the lead. Minnesota tied it up in the fifth but Ohio would score in the next three ends to pull away 7-4. Minnesota was forced to one in the ninth and stole one in the 10th to nearly pull off the win.

Sieg's California teammates Christina Pastula (Seattle), Brannon Wells (San Jose, Calif.) and Candace Siep (San Jose, Calif.) played a back-and-forth game with North Dakota's Al Gulseth rink before pulling ahead with a deuce in the eighth and a steal of one in the ninth. North Dakota, which is hungry for its first win, could only muster one in the final end and were left with empty stomachs.

The round robin continues through Thursday afternoon. The top four teams will advance to Friday's semifinals at 2 p.m. The final is schedule at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Game scores: Ohio 7, Minnesota 6; Washington 6, Alaska 2; Wisconsin 8, Maryland 6; California 6, North Dakota 5

Standings:
*Wisconsin 5-0
Alaska 3-2
Maryland 3-2
Washington 3-2
California 2-3
Minnesota 2-3
Ohio 2-3
North Dakota 0-5
*clinched playoff berth

USA Curling is sponsored by AIT Worldwide Logistics, AmerAust Technologies 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.

For more information: Terry Luder, USA Curling, terry.luder@usacurl.org, 715-344-1199