Duluth siblings Tyler and Courtney George each won matches to advance to today's USA Curling National Championship gold-medal games.
Tyler George's rink, which includes Duluthian Chris Plys, jumped to a 4-0 lead and hung on to edge fellow Duluth Curling Club member John Shuster 6-4 in the men's Page 1-2 playoff game Friday at the Resch Olympic Pavilion in Green Bay.
Shuster, along with Duluth teammates Jared Zezel and John Landsteiner and Gilbert's Jeff Isaacson, met Brady Clark's Seattle team in Friday night's semifinal to determine who will play George at 2 p.m. today in a match aired live on the NBC Sports Network. The winner advances to the World Championships.
"We just need to keep playing like we're playing," Plys told USA Curling's website. "Everyone is throwing the rock well and (George) is calling a good game. We'll be ready for whoever it is."
Courtney George, who lives in St. Paul, goes for gold at 9 a.m. today against Erika Brown of Oakville, Ontario. George and teammates Aileen Sormunen and Amanda McLean of Duluth and Julie Lilla of Trempeleau, Wis., defeated Alexandra Carlson 9-6 late Thursday to qualify for their first finals appearance. Brown won 8-7 over Allison Pottinger, who ended up taking home the bronze medal with an 11-2 win over Carlson.
