CurlingZone: Switzerland defeats USA 7-5 in opening draw of 2023 women's worlds

Defending champions Silvana Tirinzoni and Team Switzerland (Photo: World Curling Federation) opened the 2023 World Women's Curling Championship with a 7-5 victory over Tabitha Peterson and Team USA in Draw 1 on Saturday afternoon in Sandviken, Sweden.

By: Dylan Chenier

Team Switzerland's quest for a fourth consecutive World Women's Curling Championship title got off to a positive start for Silvana Tirinzoni's rink on Saturday afternoon, with the team picking up a narrow 6-5 victory over USA (Peterson) in the tournament's opening draw.

After Team USA won the last shot draw to the button challenge, securing hammer in the first end, Switzlernad would open the game with two consecutive steals of one to lead 2-0 after two ends. Peterson's rink would finally get on the board in the third with a score of two.

Tirinzoni would retake the lead in the fourth end with a score of one, before stealing points in ends five and six to lead 5-2. The Americans were able to turn things around in the seventh, with Peterson making a shot for three on her last throw, tying things up 5-5 with three ends to play.

After a blank in eight, Switzerland would be forced to one in the ninth, meaning Peterson would retake the hammer heading home in ten, with Team USA down by one.

Facing a single Switzerland stone on her last shot of the game, Peterson's throw was wide, allowing Tirinzoni to steal one for a 7-5 victory. With the win, Switzerland's quest for a fourth-straight world women's title is off to a positive start, with the team currently sitting at 1-0 after the first draw of the competition.

Despite picking up the win, Team Tirinzoi wasn't necessarily the best rink on paper during Saturday's opening match. A look at the statistics between the two rinks shows the USA leading or tied in all positions but fourth, with Alina Paetz, who throws fourth rocks for Switzerland, curling 73 per cent compared to Peterson's 65 per cent.

Tirinzoni's rink won't have much downtime on Saturday in Sandviken, as Switzerland returns to the ice this evening with the foursome set to face Satsuki Fujisawa and Team Japan in Draw 2. The Japanese rink opened their tournament on Saturday afternoon with a 7-6 loss to Madeline Dupont and Team Denmark. The 2022 Pan Continental champions will be looking to turn things around Saturday evening, as they seek their first win of the tournament.

The two rinks have met just once so far this season, with Fujisawa taking an 8-6 victory at the 2023 Co-op Canadian Open, en route to winning the championship title. In the overall head-to-head record between the two skips, Tirinzoni currently has the upper hand with 12 victories to Fujisawa's four.

In other Draw 1 action Saturday afternoon at the 2023 World Women's Curling Championship, Team Norway (Roervik) defeated South Korea (Ha) 8-6, while hosts Anna Hasselborg and Team Sweden picked up a dominant 14-2 win over New Zealand (Smith).

RESULTS | Session 1?#curling #WWCC2023 pic.twitter.com/v2Bt3Yo5SM
— World Curling (@worldcurling) March 18, 2023

The 2023 World Women's Curling Championship continues Saturday at 7:00 p.m. CET (2:00 p.m. ET).

Live SCORES, STATS, and STANDINGS can be found at www.CurlingZone.com

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