Clark (Lynnwood, Wash.) and teammates Cristin Clark (Lynnwood, Wash.), Leon Romaniuk (Kirkland, Wash.) and Bev Walter (Seattle) easily handled the Wisconsin team, 8-2, after jumping out to an early lead Lemke's team couldn't overcome. Washingotn scored the games first five points and went into the fifth-end break with an empowering 6-1 lead. Wisconsin would score just one in the sixth and conceded in the ninth end after Washington scored consecutive singles.

Wisconsin locked down its playoff spot yesterday. Washington and Maryland's Scott Edie rink are now both 4-2 and will play in the round robin finale at 12:30 today. Whichever team wins this match will automatically qualify for the playoffs. Three teams are tied for third with 3-3 records - Alaska, California and Ohio, with the latter two playing each other today as well. If Wisconsin beats Alaska, no tiebreaker games will be needed. An Alaskan win will create a three-way tie for the final playoff berth.

Edie (Middletown, Md.) and teammates Janice Langanke (Middletown, Md.), Dean Gemmell (Short Hills, N.J.) and Jennifer Kungle (Columbia, Md.) cruised to a 9-1 win over Alaska's Steve Shuttleworth after scoring four points in the fourth end and stealing another four in the fifth. After that, Alaska opted to shake hands and focus on today's game.

California's Lyle Sieg rink eliminated Minnesota's Ron Gervais team from playoff contention with a 6-5 win. Sieg (Castro Valley, Calif.) and teammates Christina Pastula (Seattle), Brannon Wells (San Jose, Calif.) and Candace Siep (San Jose, Calif.) limited Minnesota's offense in this close contest. California scored a deuce in the third end to take a 3-1 lead and never let Minnesota take control of the game. Minnesota mustered just one in the fourth and the teams traded singles in the next two ends before the Californians got another deuce on the scoreboard to cushion their lead. Minnesota made a game of it scoring one in the eighth end and then stealing one in the 10th but it wasn't quite enough.

Ohio's Robb Borland team kept its playoff hopes alive with a 10-5 win over North Dakota's Al Gulseth team. Ohio (3-3) broke open a close game with five in the sixth end that Gulseth (Moorhead, Minn.) and teammates Jamie Kirkpatrick (Fargo, N.D.), Mark Gulseth (Aberdeen, N.D.) and Amelia Pirkl (Moorhead, Minn.) couldn't overcome.

The semifinals are set for 2 p.m. Friday. If tiebreaker games are needed, they will be played at 7 tonight and 2 p.m. tomorrow. The championship final is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.

Game scores: Washington 8, Wisconsin 2; California 6, Minnesota 5; Ohio 10, North Dakota 5; Maryland 9, Alaska 1

Standings:
*Wisconsin 5-1
Maryland 4-2
Washington 4-2
Alaska 3-3
California 3-3
Ohio 3-3
Minnesota 2-4
North Dakota 0-6
*semifinalist

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