SEATTLE — Team Larway earned an automatic berth to this March’s U.S. National Curling championships with its victory over Team Kauffman at the 2004 Washington State Curling championships Jan. 18 at the Granite Curling Club in Seattle.
Team Larway (Jason Larway, Doug Pottinger, Joel Larway, Bill Todhunter) defeated Team Kauffman 8-6 in the finals.
The U.S. championships will be Feb. 28-March 6 in Grand Forks, ND.
Brothers Jason, 33, and Joel, 35, Larway will be making their ninth joint U.S. Curling Nationals appearance. Jason will be making his 10th appearance after first participating in 1989. The two last won the U.S. Men’s National Curling championship in 2001, and finished sixth at the World Championships in Switzerland the same year.
Seven teams competed in the 2004 Washington State championships and Team Larway went 7-0 in the round-robin event. Larway defeated the defending state champion Wes Johnson rink 9-6 to win the A event and then defeated Murray Beighton’s rink 8-5 to win the B event.
The Kauffman rink reached the finals in dramatic fashion against Murray Beighton in the C event on Sunday morning by stealing two points in the 10th end, and stealing one more in the extra end for a 10-9 victory.
In Sunday’s finals, Kauffman started out strong, taking a 2-1 lead after three ends. Larway’s big break came in the fifth end when he was able to chip out Kauffman’s shot stone for a 5-point end and a 6-2 lead at the fifth end break. Kauffman didn’t go away easily, and got back in the game by taking 2 points in the sixth end.
The shot of the tournament came in the eighth end, as Kauffman snuck his last rock into the center of the four-foot with lots of rocks in the house and well-placed guards out front. Larway elected to play a wick shot off Kauffman’s rock outside the rings on the right side of the sheet, and caught enough of it to then wick off his own rock and shoot across the middle to take out Kauffman’s shot rock and take two points for the end.
Team Larway had the hammer and an 8-6 lead in the 10th end, and Jason Larway put the game away with his first shot — a triple takeout of all three of Team Kauffman’s red stones which were counting at the front of the house. Team Kauffman finished the event tied with Team Beighton at 3-3.
The final standings can be found at http://curlingseattle.org/newshome.html and a full list of participants can be found at http://www.goodcurling.net/events/2004Nationals/washington%20playdowns.htm. The Granite Curling Club website is www.seattlecurling.org.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
