McCormick’s American women curlers lose 7-6 to Denmark to drop to 0-3 at Olympics

US women curlers lose to Denmark, fall to 0-3

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The U.S. women’s curlers are still winless, falling 7-6 to Denmark for their third straight defeat at the Olympics.

The Americans were beaten Thursday by a Danish foursome sporting pleated black kilts with matching tights and legwarmers. They’re making their own statement on the women’s side while the Norwegian men have drawn worldwide attention with their loud, diamond-print trousers.

“One or two losses was OK. Three definitely puts us a little behind the eight ball,” U.S. women’s vice skip Allison Pottinger said. “We’ve just got to pick it up. We’ve got to be on the other side of the inch a little bit.”

The U.S. had control of the game until a costly seventh end when Denmark scored a three-spot. U.S. skip Debbie McCormick’s final draw was well short, and all three of her teammates frantically swept to no avail.

Denmark scored a point in the first and second ends before the Americans tied it with a deuce in the third. The U.S. added a point in the fourth and fifth ends.

Earlier, the winless U.S. men curlers lost to Denmark 7-6 to fall to 0-4. That puts the U.S. at 0-7 through the first three days of competition.

“Both teams, it’s kind of hard,” Pottinger said. “We’re trying to stay positive, the boys are trying to stay positive but it does get hard. I think the staff is trying to find ways to keep us upbeat, too.”

McCormick, a third-time Olympian who’s back after missing out on Turin four years ago, made a takeout on her final rock but it rolled out. Precision has been lacking for the Americans all tournament.

“The competition’s not over. We don’t ever give up,” McCormick said. “We’ll keep doing whatever we can to put some points on the board, just be tough.”

The U.S. seemed poised for its first victory until the seventh end, when Denmark scored a three-spot.

“That was the turning point in the game,” McCormick said.

Her draw was light and that allowed Denmark to get the three.

“We had great energy all game, we were in control, we played a great fifth and sixth,” Pottinger said. “Seven, it took a bit of wind out of our sails.”

Danish skip Madeleine Dupont was hoarse from yelling over the raucous Canadian crowd.

“It’s very loud out there, in case you haven’t noticed. You can’t hear anything. It all seems hopeless,” she said. “They had a few misses, and of course a really important one in the end.”

Unbeaten Canadian women’s skip Cheryl Bernard isn’t sure how the poor start by the United States will affect curling for Canada’s neighbor nation to the south. American curlers have been counting on these Olympics giving their sport a boost.

Canada, for example, boasts more than 1 million curlers to about 10,000 in the U.S.

“I think the other countries have taken it on so much,” Bernard said. “If you look at the crowds here, I can’t imagine how it can’t (help). … They have to love the sport, too, and I think they do. It’s unfortunate their start here, but they’re saying the viewing is the best ever, so I still think it’s going to be fine.”