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.

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.Order of Merit as of 12/21/10 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. In accordance with the rules set forth in the 2010-2011 USCA rules booklet, 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.Nationals Rules

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.SkipLocale 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 KeyTeams to Nationals (Fargo)

Division A SeedBerthLankO'Le.HaaseHaagWap.Tuck.WL 1 Patti Lank –10-96-510-211-340 2 Norma O'Leary – 6-511-111-78-740 3 Christine Haase 9-105-6 –9-88-322 5 Jenna Haag 5-61-11– 10-76-422 4 Kimberly Wapola 2-107-118-97-10 11-914 6 Amanda Tucker 3-117-83-84-69-11 05 Division B SeedBerthSorm.Reis.Pott.KarstGoodWL 1 Aileen Sormunen 10-3–7-68-330 5 Nicole Reiser 3-10 7-510-510-431 2 Cassandra Potter –5-7 8-38-621 3 Lori Karst 6-75-103-8 7-313 4 Em Good 3-84-106-83-7 04

Nationals Teams SkipThirdSecondLeadAlternateLocaleQualification Method Erika Brown Nina Spatola Ann Swisshelm Laura Hallisey Debbie McCormick Madison Top 1 US Order of Merit Allison Pottinger Nicole Joraanstad Natalie Nicholson Tabitha Peterson St. Paul Top 2 US Order of Merit 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)WLPFPAEnds WonEnds LostBlank EndsStolen 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

Draw 2 Sunday, February 13, 8:00 am

Draw 3 Sunday, February 13, 4:00 pm

Draw 4 Monday, February 14, 8:00 am

Draw 5 Monday, February 14, 4:00 pm

Draw 6 Tuesday, February 15, 10:00 am

Draw 7 Tuesday, February 15, 7:00 pm

Draw 8 Wednesday, February 16, 12:00 pm

Draw 9 Wednesday, February 16, 8:00 pm

Playoffs

1 vs. 2 game Thursday, February 17, 8:00 pm

3 vs. 4 game Thursday, February 17, 8:00 pm

Semifinal Friday, February 18, 4:00 pm

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.

References

External links 2011 USA Nationals Home Page Results at CurlingZone.com