Curling competition at Bemidji, Minnesota
The 2020 United States Mixed Doubles Curling Championship was held from February 27 to March 1 at the Bemidji Curling Club in Bemidji, Minnesota .[ 1] [ 2] The twelve teams were divided into two pools of six teams each. Each pool played a full round robin with the top three from each pool proceeding to the playoffs. The winning team of Tabitha Peterson and Joe Polo was supposed to represent the United States at the 2020 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Kelowna, Canada but the event got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic .[ 3] [ 4] [ 5] They will instead compete at the 2021 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Aberdeen , Scotland as the 2021 U.S. Mixed Doubles National Championship was postponed due to the pandemic.[ 6]
Tabitha Peterson and Joe Polo won the event with a 7–4 win over defending champions Cory Christensen and John Shuster in the final.[ 7] Peterson and Polo made the final in the 2017 championship but lost to siblings Becca Hamilton and Matt Hamilton 7–6. Two-time champions Sarah Anderson and Korey Dropkin won the bronze medal with a 7–6 extra end win over Monica Walker and Alex Leichter. Anderson and Dropkin won the championship in 2015 and 2018 and had a quarterfinal finish in 2019 .
The local Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member, Lakeland PBS , covered the tournament. This included streaming the entire tournament and broadcasting the semifinals and finals live on the television channel.[ 8]
Qualification There were five ways teams qualified for the championship:[ 4]
2019 USMDCC finalists
Highest finishing American teams at Colorado Curling Cup and Madtown DoubleDown (mixed doubles bonspiels in Denver, Colorado and Madison, Wisconsin , respectively)
Four American teams, not already qualified, with highest year-to-date points in WCF World Team Ranking System
Wild-card berth awarded by selection committee
Top three teams from 2020 United States Mixed Doubles Challenge Round
Challenge round Sixteen teams played at the 2020 United States Mixed Doubles Challenge Round, held in Portage, Wisconsin from December 19 to 22, 2019.[ 14] Through a triple knockout competition the top three teams secured the final team spots at the Mixed Doubles Championship.[ 15] Monica Walker and Alex Leichter were the first to clinch a championship berth when they defeated Katherine Gourianova and Eli Clawson in the 'A' bracket final.[ 16] Gourianova and Clawson then dropped down to the 'B' bracket final where they had another opportunity to earn one of the final two berths, which they did when they defeated Becca Wood and Sean Franey.[ 17] Wood and Franey then faced Kim Rhyme and Jason Smith in the 'C' bracket final for the third and final championship berth, which Rhyme and Smith secured with a 9-4 win.[ 18]
Teams The teams are listed as follows:[ 19]
Round-robin standings Final round robin Standings [ 20]
Key
Teams to playoffs
Teams to tiebreakers
Pool A
W
L
Anderson / Dropkin
5
0
Persinger / Plys
4
1
Walker / Leichter
3
2
Bear / Stopera
2
3
Clark / Bond
1
4
McMakin / Fenson
0
5
Pool B
W
L
Christensen / Shuster
3
2
Hamilton / Hamilton
3
2
Peterson / Polo
3
2
Gourianova / Clawson
3
2
Rhyme / Smith
2
3
Agre / McLean
1
4
Round-robin results All draw times are listed in Central Standard Time (UTC−06:00 ).
Draw 1 Thursday, February 27, 2:30 pm
Sheet 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Walker / Leichter
0
0
1
1
0
2
1
0
5
Persinger / Plys
3
1
0
0
2
0
0
2
8
Sheet 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
McMakin / Fenson
0
1
0
0
3
0
0
0
4
Clark / Bond
1
0
2
1
0
2
1
2
9
Sheet 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Anderson / Dropkin
3
1
3
0
2
0
2
X
11
Bear / Stopera
0
0
0
1
0
2
0
X
3
Sheet 4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Peterson / Polo
0
5
0
2
0
0
2
X
9
Rhyme / Smith
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
X
4
Sheet 5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Gourianova / Clawson
1
0
0
2
0
0
1
X
4
Christensen / Shuster
0
2
2
0
2
1
0
X
7
Sheet 6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Agre / McLean
0
0
1
0
1
0
2
X
4
Hamilton / Hamilton
1
1
0
4
0
1
0
X
7
Draw 2 Thursday, February 27, 7:00 pm
Sheet 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Christensen / Shuster
0
1
0
1
2
0
2
0
6
Agre / McLean
2
0
2
0
0
1
0
2
7
Sheet 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Final
Peterson / Polo
0
1
0
0
1
0
4
1
0
7
Hamilton / Hamilton
1
0
2
2
0
2
0
0
1
8
Sheet 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Persinger / Plys
1
1
0
4
0
1
0
X
7
McMakin / Fenson
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
X
3
Sheet 4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Clark / Bond
0
0
1
0
2
0
X
X
3
Anderson / Dropkin
1
1
0
4
0
3
X
X
9
Sheet 5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Walker / Leichter
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
2
6
Bear / Stopera
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
3
Sheet 6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Rhyme / Smith
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
4
Gourianova / Clawson
0
3
1
1
0
0
0
1
6
Draw 3 Friday, February 28, 2:30 pm
Sheet 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Rhyme / Smith
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
5
Hamilton / Hamilton
0
1
1
2
0
0
0
0
4
Sheet 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Gourianova / Clawson
0
1
1
2
0
1
0
X
5
Agre / McLean
2
0
0
0
1
0
1
X
4
Sheet 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Walker / Leichter
1
3
1
0
2
0
0
X
7
Clark / Bond
0
0
0
2
0
2
1
X
5
Sheet 4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Persinger / Plys
4
0
2
0
2
0
4
X
12
Bear / Stopera
0
2
0
2
0
3
0
X
7
Sheet 5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
McMakin / Fenson
0
0
1
1
0
1
1
0
4
Anderson / Dropkin
3
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
6
Sheet 6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Peterson / Polo
3
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
6
Christensen / Shuster
0
0
1
0
2
1
1
0
5
Draw 4 Friday, February 28, 7:00 pm
Sheet 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Gourianova / Clawson
5
0
1
1
1
X
X
X
8
Peterson / Polo
0
1
0
0
0
X
X
X
1
Sheet 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Anderson / Dropkin
1
1
0
0
2
1
0
2
7
Persinger / Plys
0
0
3
1
0
0
2
0
6
Sheet 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Hamilton / Hamilton
0
1
1
0
0
1
0
X
3
Christensen / Shuster
2
0
0
1
1
0
3
X
7
Sheet 4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Final
McMakin / Fenson
1
0
3
1
0
3
0
1
0
9
Walker / Leichter
0
3
0
0
2
0
4
0
1
10
Sheet 5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Agre / McLean
0
1
0
0
3
0
2
0
6
Rhyme / Smith
1
0
2
1
0
2
0
1
7
Sheet 6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Bear / Stopera
3
1
0
0
3
0
0
1
8
Clark / Bond
0
0
1
1
0
3
1
0
6
Draw 5 Saturday, February 29, 10:00 am
Sheet 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Bear / Stopera
2
1
1
1
2
0
X
X
7
McMakin / Fenson
0
0
0
0
0
1
X
X
1
Sheet 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Christensen / Shuster
2
0
2
1
0
3
X
X
8
Rhyme / Smith
0
1
0
0
1
0
X
X
2
Sheet 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Final
Agre / McLean
0
2
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
5
Peterson / Polo
1
0
1
0
1
0
2
0
1
6
Sheet 4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Hamilton / Hamilton
4
1
2
1
X
X
X
X
8
Gourianova / Clawson
0
0
0
0
X
X
X
X
0
Sheet 5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Clark / Bond
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
X
3
Persinger / Plys
1
1
0
2
0
1
0
X
5
Sheet 6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Anderson / Dropkin
2
1
0
2
0
3
X
X
8
Walker / Leichter
0
0
2
0
1
0
X
X
3
Tiebreaker Saturday, February 29, 2:30 pm
Sheet 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Peterson / Polo
2
0
3
0
2
0
3
X
10
Gourianova / Clawson
0
2
0
2
0
1
0
X
5
Playoffs Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
1
Anderson / Dropkin
5
3
Persinger / Plys
7
6
Peterson / Polo
8
6
Peterson / Polo
10
6
Peterson / Polo
7
2
Christensen / Shuster
4
2
Christensen / Shuster
9
4
Hamilton / Hamilton
6
5
Walker / Leichter
6
5
Walker / Leichter
7
Bronze medal game
1
Anderson / Dropkin
7
5
Walker / Leichter
6
Quarterfinals Saturday, February 29, 7:00 pm
Sheet 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Hamilton / Hamilton
0
0
3
0
2
0
1
0
6
Walker / Leichter
2
1
0
1
0
1
0
2
7
Sheet 4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Persinger / Plys
1
2
0
2
0
2
0
0
7
Peterson / Polo
0
0
3
0
1
0
3
3
10
Semifinals Sunday, March 1, 11:00 am
Team
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Anderson / Dropkin
0
0
2
0
1
0
2
X
5
Peterson / Polo
2
1
0
2
0
3
0
X
8
Team
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Christensen / Shuster
2
0
1
0
2
0
3
1
9
Walker / Leichter
0
3
0
1
0
2
0
0
6
Bronze medal game Sunday, March 1, 3:30 pm
Team
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Final
Anderson / Dropkin
3
2
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
7
Walker / Leichter
0
0
1
1
0
1
2
1
0
6
Final Sunday, March 1, 3:30 pm
Team
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Final
Peterson / Polo
1
2
0
3
0
1
0
X
7
Christensen / Shuster
0
0
1
0
2
0
1
X
4
References
^ "Mixed Doubles National Championship" . USA Curling . Archived from the original on April 11, 2018. Retrieved Dec 19, 2019 .
^ "CURLING: Bemidji to host 2020 Mixed Doubles National Championships" . The Bemidji Pioneer . Jul 13, 2019. Retrieved Dec 19, 2019 .
^ Etchells, Daniel (Apr 17, 2019). "Kelowna to host 2020 World Mixed Doubles and Senior Curling Championships" . Inside the Games . Retrieved Dec 19, 2019 .
^ a b "Guidelines for 2020 National Championships and Mixed Doubles National Championship" . USA Curling . Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved Dec 19, 2019 .
^ Jeffrey Au (March 14, 2020). "World Mixed Doubles and World Senior Curling Championships 2020 cancelled in Kelowna, Canada" . World Curling Federation. Retrieved May 17, 2021 .
^ "2021 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship begins Monday" . USA Curling. May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2021 .
^ Monteith, Austin (2020-03-01). "CURLING: Bemidji native Polo, Peterson win Mixed Doubles National Championship" . The Bemidji Pioneer . Retrieved 2020-03-02 .
^ Mootz, Chaz (2020-02-26). "Bemidji Curling Club Hosting 2020 USA Curling Mixed Doubles National Championship" . Lakeland PBS . Retrieved 2020-03-01 .
^ "Curling: Shuster, Christensen win national title" . Duluth News Tribune . Mar 3, 2019. Retrieved Dec 19, 2019 .
^ "Colorado Curling Cup" . CurlingZone . Retrieved Dec 19, 2019 .
^ "2019 MadTown DoubleDown" . CurlingZone . Retrieved Dec 19, 2019 .
^ a b "Qualifiers for the 2020 Mixed Doubles Championship" (PDF) . USA Curling . Retrieved Dec 19, 2019 .
^ Davis, Terry (Dec 22, 2019). "Field set for 2020 Mixed Doubles National Championship" . USA Curling . Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved Dec 22, 2019 .
^ "Mixed Doubles Challenge Round" . USA Curling . Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved Dec 19, 2019 .
^ "Mixed Doubles Challenge Round begins Thursday in Portage" . USA Curling . Dec 16, 2019. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved Dec 19, 2019 .
^ "USA Mixed Doubles Challenge Round - A Event" . CurlingZone . Retrieved Dec 22, 2019 .
^ "USA Mixed Doubles Challenge Round - B Event" .
^ "USA Mixed Doubles Challenge Round - C Event" .
^ "Qualified Teams" . Bemidji Curling Club . Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved Dec 20, 2019 .
^ "USA Mixed Doubles National Championship - Round robin" . CurlingZone . Retrieved 2020-02-27 .