2011 United States Women's Curling Championship

The 2011 United States Women's Curling Championship took place on February 12–19 at the Scheels Arena in Fargo, North Dakota. It was held in conjunction with the 2011 United States Men's Curling Championship. After winning the final over the Allison Pottinger rink, the Patti Lank rink represented the United States at the 2011 World Championships at Esbjerg, Denmark, finishing in 7th place with a 4–5 win–loss record.

2011 United States Women's Curling Championship
Host city	Fargo, North Dakota
Arena	Scheels Arena
Dates	February 12–19, 2011
Winner	Patti Lank
Curling club	Lewiston, New York
Skip	Patti Lank
Third	Caitlin Maroldo
Second	Jessica Schultz
Lead	Mackenzie Lank
Alternate	Christina Schwartz
Finalist	Allison Pottinger
« 2010 2012 »

Road to the Nationals

Teams qualified for the women's nationals in one of two ways. Two teams automatically qualified as the top two US teams on the Order of Merit list after the Curl Mesabi Cash Spiel is completed. This year, those two teams were the Erika Brown and Allison Pottinger rinks.^[1] Teams could also qualify for the women's nationals through a challenge round.

Challenge round

The women's challenge round was held on January 19–23 in Grand Forks, North Dakota. There were eleven teams (excluding the two teams qualified based on Order of Merit) participating in the challenge round for eight spots in the nationals in Fargo.^[2] In accordance with the rules set forth in the 2010-2011 USCA rules booklet,^[3] the challenge round consisted of a divisional round robin with two divisions. There was also a double knockout provision, where a team must have two losses in their win–loss record in order to be eliminated from qualifying for the nationals. Teams played tiebreakers to narrow down the number of qualifiable teams to the number of qualifier spots available.^[4]

The divisional round robin consisted of two divisions (listed by seed in Results section) of 6 and 5, respectively. At the end of play, all teams except the bottom two teams in each division advanced to the nationals. The bottom four teams then played in a single-knockout playoff to decide the winner of the last qualification spot. The double knockout provision applies in that a winless team will not be able to advance to the nationals.

Teams

Div.	Skip	Locale
A	Jenna Haag	Milton
	Christine Haase	Wayland
	Patti Lank	Lewiston
	Norma O'Leary	Duluth
	Amanda Tucker	St. Thomas
	Kimberly Wapola	St. Paul
B	Em Good	Seattle
	Lori Karst	Madison
	Cassandra Potter	St. Paul
	Nicole Reiser	Bismarck
	Aileen Sormunen	St. Paul

Results

Key
	Teams to Nationals (Fargo)

Division A

Seed	Berth	Lank	O'Le.	Haase	Haag	Wap.	Tuck.	W	L
1	Patti Lank		–	10-9	6-5	10-2	11-3	4	0
2	Norma O'Leary	–		6-5	11-1	11-7	8-7	4	0
3	Christine Haase	9-10	5-6		–	9-8	8-3	2	2
5	Jenna Haag	5-6	1-11	–		10-7	6-4	2	2
4	Kimberly Wapola	2-10	7-11	8-9	7-10		11-9	1	4
6	Amanda Tucker	3-11	7-8	3-8	4-6	9-11		0	5

Division B

Seed	Berth	Sorm.	Reis.	Pott.	Karst	Good	W	L
1	Aileen Sormunen		10-3	–	7-6	8-3	3	0
5	Nicole Reiser	3-10		7-5	10-5	10-4	3	1
2	Cassandra Potter	–	5-7		8-3	8-6	2	1
3	Lori Karst	6-7	5-10	3-8		7-3	1	3
4	Em Good	3-8	4-10	6-8	3-7		0	4

	Qualification
	B3	Lori Karst	10
	A4	Kimberly Wapola	7

Nationals

Teams

Skip	Third	Second	Lead	Alternate	Locale	Qualification Method
Erika Brown	Nina Spatola	Ann Swisshelm	Laura Hallisey	Debbie McCormick	Madison	Top 1 US Order of Merit[1]
Allison Pottinger	Nicole Joraanstad	Natalie Nicholson	Tabitha Peterson		St. Paul	Top 2 US Order of Merit[1]
Patti Lank	Caitlin Maroldo	Jessica Schultz	Mackenzie Lank	Christina Schwartz	Lewiston	Challenge Round (Division A)
Norma O'Leary	Marjorie Smith	Theresa Hoffoss	Patricia Luke		Duluth	Challenge Round (Division A)
Chrissy Haase	Monica Walker	Karen Walker	Nicole Vassar		Wayland	Challenge Round (Division A)
Jenna Haag	Chloe Pahl	Grace Gabower	Erin Wallace	Joy Pahl	Milton	Challenge Round (Division A)
Aileen Sormunen	Courtney George	Amanda McLean	Miranda Solem		St. Paul	Challenge Round (Division B)
Cassie Potter	Jamie Haskell	Maureen Stolt	Stephanie Sambor		St. Paul	Challenge Round (Division B)
Nicole Reiser	Michelle Wagner	Gabrielle Coleman	Ann Drummie	Charrissa Lin	Bismarck	Challenge Round (Division B)
Lori Karst	Sherri Schummer	Emilia Juocys	Heather Van Sistine		Madison	Challenge Round (A/B Qualifier)

Standings

Through Draw 9

Team (Skip)	W	L	PF	PA	Ends Won	Ends Lost	Blank Ends	Stolen Ends
Patti Lank	8	1	70	52	39	36	3	12
Allison Pottinger	7	2	70	43	45	28	3	20
Erika Brown	7	2	81	47	39	30	3	9
Cassandra Potter	6	3	67	58	38	33	5	12
Nicole Reiser	4	5	63	69	39	42	3	13
Aileen Sormunen	4	5	57	60	40	36	6	13
Jenna Haaag	3	6	41	55	34	37	7	5
Norma O'Leary	3	6	60	65	31	40	8	6
Chris Haase	2	7	51	67	33	40	3	7
Lori Karsty	1	8	39	83	28	42	3	5

Round robin

All times listed in Central Standard Time.

Draw 1

Saturday, February 12, 4:30 pm

Sheet A	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Jenna Haag	0	1	0	0	0	0	X	X	X	X	1
Allison Pottinger	3	0	1	1	1	1	X	X	X	X	7

Sheet B	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Norma O'Leary	0	1	5	0	4	3	X	X	X	X	13
Cassie Potter	1	0	0	1	0	0	X	X	X	X	2

Sheet C	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Aileen Sormunen	2	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	8
Nicole Reiser	0	0	0	2	0	1	2	1	1	0	7

Sheet D	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Erika Brown	5	2	3	0	4	2	0	X	X	X	16
Lori Karst	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	X	X	X	1

Sheet E	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Chrissy Haase	1	1	0	0	2	0	0	X	X	X	4
Patti Lank	0	0	3	1	0	0	7	X	X	X	11

Draw 2

Sunday, February 13, 8:00 am

Sheet A	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Patti Lank	2	1	0	2	0	2	0	0	1	1	9
Nicole Reiser	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	4

Sheet B	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Chrissy Haase	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	X	X	4
Allison Pottinger	0	2	0	1	1	2	1	2	X	X	9

Sheet C	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Lori Karst	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	X	4
Cassie Potter	0	2	1	1	0	0	1	3	0	X	8

Sheet D	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Final
Aileen Sormunen	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	3	0	0	7
Norma O'Leary	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	3	0	2	1	8

Sheet E	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Erika Brown	0	2	0	1	0	0	2	0	1	1	7
Jenna Haag	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	3

Draw 3

Sunday, February 13, 4:00 pm

Sheet A	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Aileen Sormunen	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	2	0	X	5
Cassie Potter	4	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	1	X	9

Sheet B	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Nicole Reiser	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	3	X	7
Erika Brown	0	1	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	X	4

Sheet C	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Norma O'Leary	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	4
Patti Lank	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	1	5

Sheet D	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Chrissy Haase	0	1	0	1	2	0	1	0	2	0	7
Jenna Haag	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	2	0	2	8

Sheet E	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Lori Karst	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	X	X	2
Allison Pottinger	0	1	0	1	2	1	2	1	X	X	8

Draw 4

Monday, February 14, 8:00 am

Sheet A	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Allison Pottinger	1	0	0	1	1	1	0	3	0	X	7
Norma O'Leary	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	X	3

Sheet B	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Jenna Haag	2	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	7
Lori Karst	0	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	6

Sheet C	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Chrissy Haase	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	X	5
Erika Brown	0	2	1	0	3	0	0	0	1	X	7

Sheet D	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Nicole Reiser	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	X	4
Cassie Potter	2	0	2	0	1	0	2	1	1	X	9

Sheet E	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Patti Lank	2	0	0	0	3	0	2	1	1	X	9
Aileen Sormunen	0	0	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	X	6

Draw 5

Monday, February 14, 4:00 pm

Sheet A	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Lori Karst	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	X	X	X	3
Aileen Sormunen	0	2	0	4	0	3	2	X	X	X	11

Sheet B	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Erika Brown	3	0	2	0	2	0	4	0	X	X	11
Norma O'Leary	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	2	X	X	7

Sheet C	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Nicole Reiser	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	2	0	4	10
Jenna Haag	0	1	0	2	0	0	1	0	1	0	5

Sheet D	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Allison Pottinger	0	1	0	1	0	4	0	1	1	0	8
Patti Lank	2	0	1	0	2	0	3	0	0	1	9

Sheet E	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Cassie Potter	0	0	4	0	1	0	3	X	X	X	8
Chrissy Haase	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	X	X	X	2

Draw 6

Tuesday, February 15, 10:00 am

Sheet A	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Nicole Reiser	0	0	2	0	2	0	1	1	1	2	9
Chrissy Haase	1	1	0	2	0	3	0	0	0	0	7

Sheet B	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Patti Lank	0	3	0	0	1	0	2	0	1	X	7
Jenna Haag	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	X	4

Sheet C	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Allison Pottinger	2	0	1	0	0	2	0	4	0	1	10
Aileen Sormunen	0	1	0	1	1	0	2	0	4	0	9

Sheet D	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Cassie Potter	0	0	2	0	3	0	3	0	2	0	10
Erika Brown	0	5	0	1	0	2	0	3	0	1	12

Sheet E	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Norma O'Leary	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	6
Lori Karst	0	1	0	1	3	0	0	2	0	1	8

Draw 7

Tuesday, February 15, 7:00 pm

Sheet A	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Cassie Potter	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	3	0	0	7
Jenna Haag	1	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	1	1	6

Sheet B	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Allison Pottinger	2	0	2	1	4	0	0	1	X	X	10
Nicole Reiser	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	X	X	3

Sheet C	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Patti Lank	0	0	2	0	4	0	1	1	1	X	9
Lori Karst	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	X	5

Sheet D	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Norma O'Leary	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	1	X	X	4
Chrissy Haase	1	0	2	0	1	2	3	0	X	X	9

Sheet E	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Aileen Sormunen	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	X	X	4
Erika Brown	0	0	2	0	2	0	5	0	X	X	9

Draw 8

Wednesday, February 16, 12:00 pm

Sheet A	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Erika Brown	1	1	1	0	2	0	3	2	X	X	10
Patti Lank	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	X	X	3

Sheet B	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Aileen Sormunen	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	0	2	1	7
Chrissy Haase	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	5

Sheet C	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Jenna Haag	1	0	0	1	0	1	1	3	0	X	7
Norma O'Leary	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	X	4

Sheet D	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Lori Karst	0	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	2	0	6
Nicole Reiser	0	2	0	1	1	0	2	1	0	3	10

Sheet E	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Allison Pottinger	1	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	X	4
Cassie Potter	0	2	0	2	0	0	1	1	1	X	7

Draw 9

Wednesday, February 16, 8:00 pm

Sheet A	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Chrissy Haase	1	0	2	0	1	0	3	0	1	X	8
Lori Karst	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	X	4

Sheet B	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Cassie Potter	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	1	0	7
Patti Lank	2	0	0	1	2	0	0	2	0	1	8

Sheet C	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Erika Brown	0	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	1	X	5
Allison Pottinger	2	1	0	3	0	0	0	1	0	X	7

Sheet D	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Jenna Haag	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	X	3
Aileen Sormunen	0	0	2	1	0	0	1	2	1	X	7

Sheet E	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Final
Nicole Reiser	0	2	1	0	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	9
Norma O'Leary	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	2	2	1	2	11

Playoffs

	Page playoff system					Semifinal					Final
	1	Patti Lank	6								1	Patti Lank	9
	2	Allison Pottinger	5								2	Allison Pottinger	4
						2	Allison Pottinger	8
						4	Cassandra Potter	5
	3	Erika Brown	4
	4	Cassandra Potter	9

1 vs. 2 game

Thursday, February 17, 8:00 pm

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Patti Lank	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	3	0	1	6
Allison Pottinger	0	0	2	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	5

3 vs. 4 game

Thursday, February 17, 8:00 pm

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Erika Brown	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	X	4
Cassandra Potter	1	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	4	X	9

Semifinal

Friday, February 18, 4:00 pm

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Allison Pottinger	1	1	0	1	0	2	0	2	0	1	8
Cassandra Potter	0	0	1	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	5

Championship final

Saturday, February 19, 10:00 am

In the final of the women's championship, Lank opened up the game with a light tap for a deuce, and then stole a point in the second after Pottinger's takeout left one of Lank's stones closer to the button than her stone was. Pottinger drew against four to pick up a single in the third, but Lank drew to the button to score another deuce and take a commanding four-point lead. A failed double takeout by Lank left Pottinger with an easy draw for two, cutting Lank's lead to two points. After the break, Lank scored a big three points after Pottinger's failed takeout attempt gave Lank an easy draw. Lank stole another point from Pottinger when Pottinger's takeout didn't push one of Lank's stones out far enough. After coming up light to only take a single in the eighth end, Pottinger conceded the game, and Lank won the championship.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Patti Lank	2	1	0	2	0	3	1	0	X	X	9
Allison Pottinger	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	1	X	X	4