The 2011

United States Men's Curling Championship The United States Men's Curling Championship is the annual men's national curling championship for the United States. It is run by the United States Curling Association (USCA) and typically held in conjunction with the Women's Championship. The c ...

took place on February 12–19 at the

Scheels Arena Scheels Arena (formerly called The Urban Plains Center, or UPC) is a multi-purpose venue located in Fargo, North Dakota. It is part of the Sanford Health Athletic Park which comprises the arena, the Family Wellness Center (a partnership between ...

in Fargo,

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. It was held in conjunction with the 2011 United States Women's Curling Championship. After a win over the

Tyler George Tyler George (born October 6, 1982) is an American curler from Duluth, Minnesota. He is a three-time U.S. Champion, 2016 World bronze medalist, and 2018 Olympic gold medalist. Since the 2018 Olympics, he has taken a break from playing competitiv ...

rink,

Pete Fenson Peter Fenson (born February 29, 1968, in Bemidji, Minnesota) is an American curler. He was the skip of the men's rink that represented the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they won the bronze medal, the first Olympic medal for t ...

and his team became champions for the second consecutive time. They represented the United States at the 2011 World Championships in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

, finishing in 10th place after an unfortunate series of close losses dropped their win–loss record to 3-8. It is the worst finish by an American men's team at the world championships to date.

Road to the Nationals

Teams qualified for the men's nationals in one of two ways. Two teams automatically qualified as the top two US teams on the Order of Merit list after the Curl Mesabi Cash Spiel is completed. This year, those two teams are the

and

rinks.Order of Merit as of 12/21/10
/ref> The remaining eight spots for the nationals were awarded to the top finishers in the regional qualifiers and challenge rounds. Five teams qualified from the qualifiers round, where each qualified site received one or more qualifying spots. The other three spots went to the winners of the challenge round.Nationals Rules
/ref>

Teams

Round-robin standings

''Through Draw 9''

Round-robin results

''All times listed in

Central Standard Time The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, and a few Caribbean Islands, Caribbean islands. In parts of that zone (20 states in the US, three provinces or territorie ...

.''

Draw 1

''Saturday, February 12, 8:30 pm''

Draw 2

''Sunday, February 13, 12:00 pm''

Draw 3

''Sunday, February 13, 8:00 pm''

Draw 4

''Monday, February 14, 12:00 pm''

Draw 5

''Monday, February 14, 8:00 pm''

Draw 6

''Tuesday, February 15, 2:30 pm''

Draw 7

''Wednesday, February 16, 8:00 am''

Draw 8

''Wednesday, February 16, 4:00 pm''

Draw 9

''Thursday, February 17, 8:00 am''

Playoffs

1 vs. 2 game

''Friday, February 18, 12:00 pm''

3 vs. 4 game

''Friday, February 18, 12:00 pm''

Semifinal

''Friday, February 18, 8:00 pm''

Championship final

''Saturday, February 19, 3:00 pm'' Fenson opened up the final of the men's championship with a draw against two to barely secure shot rock, scoring a single in the first end. George came back with a draw for three after Fenson threw a draw too heavy, taking an early lead after the third. Fenson responded with a hit and stick shot to score a deuce, and George drew to the button for a single in the fifth. After the break, Fenson blanked two ends before a heavy draw in the eighth left him with only one point, tying the game. Fenson forced George to take a single in the ninth end, giving George the lead, but Fenson tied the game in the final end with a takeout. In the extra end, Fenson drew to the eight-foot circle with his last stone, and George's hammer stone crashed on a rock in the top twelve-foot, leaving Fenson a steal of one point and the win.

References

External links

2011 USA Nationals Home PageResults on CurlingZone.com
{{United States National Curling Championships United States Mens Curling Championship, 2011 United States Mens Curling Championship, 2011 United States National Curling Championships Sports in Fargo, North Dakota Curling competitions in North Dakota 2011 in sports in North Dakota