February 21, 2024
Each win in the second half of the round robin looks to be even more significant as each team chases a playoff spot and looks to secure a spot for member associations in next year's World Juniors.
The fifth day of the round robin on Wednesday featured two games in the women's session and one game in the men's session.
women's competition
Switzerland (6-0), undefeated so far, knew that a win over Sweden (3-3) in the morning would clinch a playoff spot. Switzerland, who scored two points in the first end, took two points back in the second end when Swedish skip Moa Dryburgh was slightly light on the final draw.
In the third end, Dryburgh came easy again with the final stone and the Swiss took another four points. Switzerland led 8-0 after three ends. In the end, Switzerland won 9-2 in 6 ends. secured a place in the playoffs.
Afterwards, Swiss skip Xenia Schwaller said, “We got hit with a hammer in the first end, so we wanted to get two points, but we were able to do it after a little struggle.'' If we have the hammer, we want to keep it simple and just go for the two of us and that's what we did. ”
Regarding reaching the semi-finals, she added: “I'm very happy. It was my goal all week to accomplish that and I played really well, so it feels great.”
In the morning match, both Japan and Norway were looking to pick up their fifth win of the week and move one step closer to qualifying for the playoffs. At the end of the sixth end, Japan was leading 3-2. In the seventh inning, Japan, last year's silver medalists, scored two runs, their first multiple points, and took a 5-2 lead.
In the end, they crushed Norway and won 6-3, giving them their fifth win of the week. After the match, the Japanese representatives said in unison, “We are very satisfied with this result.'' Skip Momoha Tabata said, “We are focused on each match and our goal is to make it to the finals. Once we get there, we want to win.”
Canada (4-2) faced South Korea (2-4) in the morning, looking for its fifth win. However, the Koreans continued to perform well, scoring multiple points in both the third and fifth ends. They led the game 6-2 after five ends. They did not allow Canada to score more than one point and ultimately won 8-3 in eight ends.
South Korea played against Japan in the evening, looking to get their second win of the day. However, Japan continued to perform well from the morning and had a 4-0 lead at the end of the fourth inning. In the end, Japan won 8-2 in seven ends, earning their sixth win of the week. decided to advance to the semi-finals.
Scotland and China both went into this morning's game looking for their third win of the week. After a low-scoring first half, China was leading 3-2. In the second half, both teams exchanged three hits and then a hammer two, giving China an 8-7 lead by the end of the 10th inning.
In the 10th inning, Scottish skip Robin Munro hit a nose hit that sent the match into extra time, but she converted it perfectly. In extra time, Chinese skip Han Zhuo made a perfect double takeaway to score two points and win 10-8.
China played Switzerland in the evening, looking to cause confusion in the top half. However, Switzerland continued to perform well in the morning and scored a huge score of 4 points in the second period. After that, they never gave up the lead and ultimately won 11-6.
In the morning, Germany (2-4) faced Turkiye (1-5), with both teams looking to secure a spot in their member associations for next year's competition. Germany got off to a great start and led 5-1 after the fourth end. After a single by Turkiye in the fifth inning, the Germans scored two runs and then one more, finishing with seven runs and leading 8-2. At this point, Turquier conceded a goal, giving Germany their third win of the week.
Germany played Canada in the evening. The game was tied 4-4 at the end of the 5th inning and 6-6 at the end of the 8th inning. Canada scored two runs in the 9th inning, and in the 10th inning they cornered Germany.Canada's 8-6 win means: they secured a place in the semi-finals.
After qualifying for the semi-finals, Canada's third place Alyssa Nedohin said: I'm so excited to celebrate with my team. We've definitely found some things that we want to continue to improve on, but we're really excited and just want to stick to ourselves and have fun out there. Because we've never made it to the playoffs here.
Elsewhere in the evening session, Norway played Scotland. Both teams lost the morning game, but were determined to bounce back in the evening. The score was tied 2-2 at halftime. The big turning point in the match came in the eighth end, when Scottish skip Robin Munro missed both draw attempts and Norway had two steals to make it 7-4. After a whiff in the ninth inning, Norway crushed Scotland and won 7-4. qualified for Friday's semifinals.
After the win, Norwegian runner-up Ingeborg Forbregd was overjoyed and said: It is very fun! I think the playoffs will be exciting because we are playing really well! ”
In the fifth game of the night, Sweden faced Turkiye, looking to bounce back from the morning's defeat. They continued to play well, leading 9-2 at halftime. Turkiye scored one run in the sixth inning and four in the seventh, giving Sweden a 10-point lead. Turkje conceded at this point, giving Sweden their fourth win of the week, 13-3.
men's competition
Last year's silver medalists, Germany (3-3), were determined to get their fourth win when they faced top-ranked Italy (5-1).
A great hit-and-roll by Germany's Benjamin Kapp followed by a run-back error by Italy's Francesco De Zanna gave Germany the lead, giving them three points in the first end. They did it by taking an early lead, 3-0, with Cupp drawing at the end.
After allowing Italy a single in the second end, the Germans added four points in the next two ends. The teams entered the break with Germany leading 7-2. In the end, they won 9-2 in six ends, an important victory that would keep their hopes of making the playoffs alive. Italy lost for the second time this week, but their dream of reaching the semi-finals is still alive.
After his win, Kapp spoke about the importance of the great draw shot challenge: We put a lot of effort into our draw shots and strive to get the best results possible. ”
Regarding the change in the level of competition at the World Juniors, he added: “It's improved a lot. I think this was the best field I've ever seen in junior competition.”
Norway (5 wins-1 loss), joint leaders in the standings, faced New Zealand (0 wins-6 losses), which qualified for this tournament by finishing fourth at the World Junior B Championship last December. At halftime, Norway was leading 5-1. They never let go of their four-point advantage and ultimately won 7-2.
Denmark (4-2) faced Switzerland (2-4) looking for their fifth win of the week. After seven points, Switzerland was leading 5-4. In the 8th inning, Denmark's No. 4 Jonathan Viland made a perfect double takeout, scoring three points and regaining the lead at 7-5.
In the 9th inning, Switzerland got back three points on skip Manuel Germain's triple takeout. Switzerland led 8-7 with 10th to play. Denmark managed to score two points in that 10th end to win 9-8, bouncing back from Tuesday's two losses.
Afterwards, Virant said: I think scoring three shots in the 8th end turned things around. Yesterday was not a very good day, but today was a good victory. I will go to bed happy today. ”
He shared his plans for the remaining round-robin matches and said, “Let's go win!”
The North American Classic pits Canada (3-3) against the United States (3-3), with both teams looking for their fourth win. Canada scored her three points in the first end, but the U.S. immediately countered with her own three points. After that, Canada led until the seventh inning. In the end, America scored three points again and took the lead for the first time, 7-6.
In the 8th inning, Canadian skip Johnson Tao tied two home runs, making it very difficult, but he fell just short, picking up just one home at 7-7. After a two-point end exchange, the game went into overtime and America had the hammer.
After some great shots on both sides, American skip Wesley Wendling finally popped the Canadian shot stone and scored one point for a 10-9 victory.
China (2 wins, 4 losses), defending the title, faced last year's bronze medalist, Scotland (3 wins, 3 losses). Both teams went into the break tied at 2-2. After China scored one steal in the sixth end, Scotland scored two goals in both the seventh and ninth ends to take a 6-4 lead.
In the 10th inning, Scotland crushed China and grabbed an important victory to keep their play-off dreams alive.
click here This is the women's and men's standings from day 5 onwards.
Click here for full results and match schedule.
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