First Week of Competition Over at The Worlds….

The first portion and week of the 2012 World Championships are in the books as Women’s Paris & Triples saw action along with Men’s Singles & Fours. Two pools were formed and the top three teams in each pool would head to the playoffs with the winners of each pool getting a bye right to the semi finals. It was Australia that flexed their muscles early as they came out in front, as all their teams will head straight to the semis and wait for the quarter finalists.

Women’s Pairs

On the Women’s side it was no surprise that the Australian girls of Kelsey Cottrell and Rebecca Quail were among the leaders of Pool #1 as they move straight to the Semi Finals. Kiwi Champions Val Smith and Joe Edwards just finished behind them in 2nd and Scotland took home the last spot in the pool. The Philippines proved to be tough in the Pool 2 of the pairs as they rolled their way to top spot in Pool #2, followed by England’s Wendy King and Ellen Faulkner.  Hannah Smith and partner Anwen Button from Wales will head to the quarters. Jackie Foster and Marg Lepere had a tough go but gained some experience as they would end up in 10th in Pool 1 and finish in 18th position overall.

Women’s Triples

It was Hong Kong that shocked the tournament in the first week as an underrated team finished 2nd in Pool #2 of the Triples. At one point HK was sitting at 9-0. In the end the Karen Murphy skipped rink of Lynsey Armitage and Natasha Van Eldik were to strong as they move right to the semi finals. New Zealand slipped into the 3rd spot and will battle it out in the quarters.  Scotland dominated Pool #1 as they charged to the finish line of the World Championships taking no prisoners in round robin action. Wales and South Africa survived the week and made it through to the Playoffs. The Canadian team of Kelly Mckerihen, Laura Seed and Laura Hudson finished 4th in Pool 1 and 9th overall in the women’s triples competition.

Men’s Singles

In the Men’s first week action it was Singles and Fours with Canada’s Ryan Bester leading the charge in the singles, pounding his way to the top spot in Pool #1. Along with Jersey and South Africa. Australian Ace Leif Selby was in Pool #2 doing much of the same as they both didn’t lose a round robin match. Following close behind were Paul Foster who was picking up steam at the end and Kiwi Shannon McIlroy is still poking around as well in the 3rd spot.

Men’s Fours

In the Fours in was a UK sweep Ireland, Wales, England in Pool #1 and was down to the wire in Pool #2 as 6 teams had a chance to crack the top 3 on the final day. Team Canada had a tough final match of the round robin as they came up against arguably one of the best fours team in the world in a must win situation and fell a bit short. The powerhouse team of Aron Sheriff, Mark Casey, Brett Wilkie and Wayne Ruediger for Australia finished in first place and a date with the Semi Finals. Scotland’s Alex Marshall skipped his team to a playoff spot and S. Africa slipped in the back door on shots. Our fellas ended the Fours in 4th spot in their pool and 7th overall as they played well all week.

It was a great first week of action and there is a ton more to come as everyone is feeling the greens and wanting more victories. Best of luck to all the competitors and thank you all for being out there and representing your countries with such pride.

Full Results: http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-7251-0-0-0&a=COMPS