The 2001 United States Olympic Curling Trials were held from December 9 to 16, 2001 in

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

. Through double round-robin tournaments the trials determined which men's and women's teams would represent the United States at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

, also in Ogden.

Tim Somerville Tim Somerville (born September 14, 1960) is an American curling, curler from Coon Rapids, Minnesota. He is a three-time Olympian, including winning the bronze medal at the 1992 Winter Games when curling was an exhibition event. Curling career A ...

's team won the men's side; his third time at the Olympics, first time for third

Mike Schneeberger Mike Schneeberger (born August 5, 1962, in Superior, Wisconsin) is an American curler. He competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City where the team finished 7th. Teams 2002 Winter Olympics, 1995 World Men's Championship, 1996 Wor ...

, and second time for

Myles Brundidge Myles Brundidge (born 1960 in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin) is an American curler. He competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, where the American team placed 4th, and at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where they placed 7th. I ...

and John Gordon.

Kari Erickson Kari Erickson (born December 18, 1971, as Kari Liapis) is an American curling, curler and Olympian. Career Erickson started curling in 1988 and had a successful junior career, winning the Minnesota State Junior Championship five years in a row, ...

and her team of

Debbie McCormick Deborah McCormick ( Henry, born January 8, 1974) is an American curler from Rio, Wisconsin. Although born in Canada, McCormick moved to Madison, Wisconsin when she was very young. McCormick is a World Champion and four-time Olympian. Career M ...

Stacey Liapis Stacey Liapis (born August 19, 1974) is an American curler from Bemidji, Minnesota. She played much of her career on teams with her sister Kari Erickson. She is a two-time Olympian, in 1998 and 2002, and a two-time United States National Champio ...

, and

Ann Swisshelm Ann Swisshelm (born March 9, 1968) is a curler from Chicago. Swisshelm represented the United States in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Olympics. She has also been known as Ann Swisshelm Silver. Career Swisshelm began curli ...

won the women's side, their only loss coming after they had already clinched the Olympics berth. This was the first Olympics for Erickson and her sister Liapis and second for McCormick and Swisshelm.

Qualification

It was planned to have six men's teams and six women's teams compete at the Olympic Trials, with three methods of qualification: winning the 2000 or 2001 National Championships or through the National Olympic Qualifier events. On the men's side, Craig Brown's team was the first to qualify as the . Jason Larway's team won the but was deemed ineligible because, as a Canadian living in the United States, teammate

Greg Romaniuk Greg Romaniuk (born August 24, 1971) is a Canadian-American curler from Snohomish, Washington. He grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba. At the national level, he is a 2001 United States men's champion curler. Teams Personal life His brother Leon ...

was eligible for the National Championship but not for the Olympics. Therefore, five men's teams qualified from the National Olympic Qualifier instead of four, to fill out the field of six teams. The 32-team Men's National Olympic Qualifier took place March 28th to April 1st, 2001 at the

Duluth Curling Club The Duluth Curling Club (DCC) is a curling club located in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. DCC is the curling club with the second largest membership in the United States. History The Duluth Curling Club was organized in 1891. The original bui ...

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. The five teams that qualified for the Trials were

Paul Pustovar Paul Pustovar (born December 17, 1951 in Chisholm, Minnesota) is an American curler from Hibbing, Minnesota. He is one of the most prolific curlers from the United States, with over thirty years of experience. He has earned two bronze medals at ...

Scott Baird Scott Baird (born May 7, 1951) is an American curler. At 54, he is the oldest American athlete to ever participate in the Winter Olympics, which he did at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Despite this feat, Baird was only the alternate for Pete Fenson ...

, Andy Borland,

Doug Pottinger Doug Pottinger (born September 18, 1973) is a Canadian-American curler from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. He is originally from Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. At the national level, he is a 2004 United States men's curling champion. Teams Men's Mi ...

, and Tim Somerville. Through the Washington State Regional Qualifier Larway had earned a spot at the National Qualifier, but had to miss the tournament because it occurred at the same time as the , where he was representing the United States as the National Champion. Larway, with fellow curler

Rich Ruohonen Richard Ruohonen (born March 31, 1971) is an American curler from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. He is a two-time national champion and as such represented the United States at the 2008 and 2018 World Men's Curling Championships. Career Ruohonen ...

acting as his attorney, filed a grievance with the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

and the

United States Curling Association The United States Curling Association (USCA or USA Curling) is the national governing body of the sport of curling in the United States. The goal of the USCA is to grow the sport of curling in the United States and win medals in competitions both ...

asking to be admitted to the Olympic Trials. Through an arbitration process Larway was eventually offered and accepted a seventh spot at the Olympic Trials. On the women's side,

Amy Wright Amy Wright is an American actress and former model. She has appeared in such films as ''The Deer Hunter'', ''Breaking Away'', '' The Accidental Tourist'', ''Hard Promises'', ''Crossing Delancey'', and ''Miss Firecracker''. She is the widow of ...

qualified as the and Kari Erickson as the . The Women's National Olympic Qualifier was held April 5 to 8, 2001 at the

Utica Curling Club The Utica Curling Club is located in Whitesboro, New York. The club was founded in 1868 and is one of the oldest curling clubs in the United States. A member of the Grand National Curling Club (GNCC), the Utica Curling Club is the largest curli ...

Whitesboro, New York Whitesboro is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 3,772 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Hugh White, an early settler. The Village of Whitesboro is inside the Town of Whitestown. History The vi ...

. Twenty teams competed, with

Patti Lank Patti Lank (born July 4, 1964) is an American curler from Lewiston, New York. Career Patti Lank began curling at the age of eleven and competed at her first US National Championships in 1994 and her team placed fourth. She has since gone on to ...

Lori Mountford Lori Ann Mountford (born July 31, 1959) is an American curler. Born in Portage, Wisconsin, she graduated from Poynette High School and started curling at age 20 at Madison Curling Club. Mountford is a two-time Olympian, competing the 1988 Wint ...

, Cassie Johnson, and

Nicole Joraanstad Nicole Joraanstad ( ; born November 10, 1980 in Seattle, Washington) is an American curler from Verona, Wisconsin. She currently plays second for Erika Brown. Career At the 2000 World Junior Curling Championships, Joraanstad played third for La ...

earning spots at the Olympic Trials as the top four teams. Margie Smith's team finished fifth and so was named an alternate qualifier, though ultimately was not needed.

Men

Teams

Seven men's teams qualified for the Olympic Trials:

Standings

The final standings after a double round-robin tournament:

Draw results

All draw times are listed in

Mountain Time Zone The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The clo ...

( UTC−7).

Draw 1

''Sunday, December 9, 2:00 pm''

Draw 2

''Sunday, December 9, 7:00 PM''

Draw 3

''Monday, December 10, 1:00 PM''

Draw 4

''Monday, December 10, 7:00 PM''

Draw 5

''Tuesday, December 11, 1:00 PM''

Draw 6

''Tuesday, December 11, 7:00 PM''

Draw 7

''Wednesday, December 12, 1:00 PM''

Draw 8

''Wednesday, December 12, 7:00 PM''

Draw 9

''Thursday, December 13, 1:00 PM''

Draw 10

''Thursday, December 13, 7:00 PM''

Draw 11

''Friday, December 14, 1:00 PM''

Draw 12

''Friday, December 14, 7:00 PM''

Draw 13

''Saturday, December 15, 1:00 PM''

Draw 14

''Saturday, December 15, 7:00 PM''

Tiebreaker

''Sunday, December 16, 9:00 AM''

Women