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SLAM! 2000 IN REVIEW



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2000 in Review


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  • CHAMPIONS: WORLD CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS


    Sunday, April 9, 2000

    McAulay earns Canada sweep of world titles

  • More World Curling Championships Coverage

     GLASGOW (CP) -- Greg McAulay completed a Canadian sweep at the world curling championships, capturing the men's crown Sunday with a 9-4 victory over Sweden's Peter Lindholm.
     
     "It is amazing," McAulay said. "I don't know the feeling yet I'm so high right now.
    Canadian skip Greg McAulay (left) gets a hug from his team lead Jody Sveistrup following their 9-4 victory over Sweden at the World Curling Championships final in Glasgow Sunday April 9, 2000.(CP PHOTO/Chuck Stoody)

     
     "This is something we've worked our whole curling career for and we were lucky enough to have it happen to us."
     
     On Saturday, Kelley Law of Richmond, B.C., won the women's title with an exciting 7-6 win over Switzerland. Law's victory marked the first time a Canadian women's team had won the world crown since the late Sandra Schmirler turned the trick in 1997 in Bern, Switzerland.
     
     Canada is the only country to sweep both men's and women's crowns in the same year, having accomplished the double nine times, the last being 1996 when Marilyn Bodogh of St. Catharines, Ont., and Winnipeg's Jeff Stoughton took the titles on home ice in Hamilton.
     
     McAulay's victory also capped an outstanding season for B.C. curling. Brad Kuhn of Kelowna, B.C., earned the world junior men's title earlier this year.
     
     Lindholm, the '97 world champion, was appearing in his third final in four years. But the Swedish skip proved to be no match for McAulay's rink from New Westminster, B.C.
     
     McAulay, 40, who finished the round-robin atop the standings with an 8-1 record, took control of the match with two in the fourth and another in the fifth for a 5-2 lead.
     
     Then, in the ninth end with the hammer and leading 7-4, McAulay clinched the victory by scoring two. With a partisan Canadian gathering cheering wildly, McAulay pumped his fist in the air as he made his way back up the ice to his celebrating teammates.
     
     "How can you go wrong with these fans," McAulay said. "I've felt right at home here with 2,000 Canadians screaming for 10 days.
     
     "We kept telling them that if they kept cheering we would keep winning and we did."
     
     A gracious Lindholm said McAulay's rink was a deserving winner.
     
     "Canada won a gold because they've been outstanding all week," he said. "They deserved it.
     
     "A silver, you shouldn't be ashamed of it. My team played excellent. The key thing was I didn't find my draw weight. That's the way it goes sometimes."


    Sunday, March 12, 2000

    Law captures women's curling world championship

     GLASGOW (CP) -- Canada's Kelley Law captured the women's world curling title Saturday with an exciting 7-6 win over Switzerland's Luzia Ebnother.

     Law clinched the global crown with the final rock of the 10th end. With Switzerland sitting shot rock in the four foot and a Canadian rock lying in the eight foot, Law took out the Swiss rock to register the single and earn Canada its 11th world women's curling crown.

     "This was a great game, Switzerland played really well," a rather subdued Law said after. "Luckily I had a shot to win."

     Ebnother had a glorious chance to go into the 10th leading 7-6. On her final rock, the Swiss skip could have scored three had she been able to erase a Canadian rock in the rings. Ebnother did hit the Canadian stone, but also took out one of her own to settle for two and a 6-6 tie.

     "It was pretty scary," Law said of the ninth end. "The surface is so fast, I think it is faster than it was in any game.

     "On that end I just thought to throw to my sweepers and thank God I did because they (Swiss) were looking like they might have got four. But there is nothing more we could ask for. We reached every goal that we set. We just did awesome."

     Law, of Richmond, B.C., who finished atop the round-robin standings with a 7-2 record, appeared to take control of the see-saw match with a steal of one in the eighth for a 6-4 lead.

     A tearful Ebnother praised the Canadian squad.

     "The game was tied until the end and actually the better (team) won," she said. "We had fun here and really enjoyed playing here.

     "We were happy to be in the final."

     In earlier action Saturday, Norway's Dordi Nordby claimed the bronze medal in the women's draw, defeating host Scotland 10-5.

     Greg McAulay's rink from New Westminster, B.C., rink advanced to the men's final Saturday with a convincing 11-3 semifinal victory over American Craig Brown.

     McCauley will take on Sweden's Peter Lindholm in today's championship game. Lindholm advanced to gold medal contest with a 9-2 semifinal victory over Finland's Markku Uusipaavalniemi on Saturday.

     McAulay finished the men's round robin atop the overall standings with an 8-1 record. Lindholm ended up tied for second at 7-2.

     Canadian senior curlers also won gold and silver Saturday.

     Toronto's Bob Turcotte won the inaugural senior men's world title with a 7-6 extra ends win over Scotland.

     But in the women's final, Scotland defeated Agnes Charette's Buckingham, Que., rink 5-4.