US Open: Birt bows out in quarter-finals, Casey falls just short of quarters

PEI’s Suzanne Birt rink made it to the quarter-final round at the Asham US Open of Curling in Blaine Minnesota, losing 7-3 to Krista McCarville of Thunder Bay on Sunday evening. Team Birt, with a 3-2 win-loss record goes home with $1250 for their quarter-final finish.

McCarville now faces Erika Brown of Madison Wisconsin in the semi-finals at 9 am Monday. Nina Roth of Blaine upset Coldwater Ontario’s Team Middaugh rink (Middaugh is not playing – Jo-Ann Rizzo was the skip) in another quarter-final, stealing 2 in the final end for a 7-6, win and plays Sijia Liu of China in the other semi.

In the men’s section, PEI’s Adam Casey rink picked up $1000, losing a playoff match for the quarter-finals, and finishing play with a 2-3 win loss record, recording wins over Minnesota rinks skipped by Mike Farbelow and Stephen Dropkin, but losing to Minnesota’s Pete Fenson, Ontario’s John Epping, and, in the quarter-final playoff match, 7-3 to Minnesota’s Craig Brown.

Brown faces Charley Thomas of Calgary in one of the 9 am Monday semis, while Epping takes on William Lyburn of Winnipeg in the other. Lyburn upset Steve Laycock of Saskatoon 6-4 in the quarter-finals.