Italy Shocks United States in Men's Curling
Italy's Fabio Alvera, left, and Joel Retornaz watch as American skip Pete Fenson yells to his sweepers. Italy, a first-time Olympic entry, won 6-5.
(By Morry Gash -- Associated Press)
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Italy, a first-timer that only qualified for the curling tournament because it is hosting the Games, shocked the United States and rocked the curling venue with a 6-5 victory.
"Every game we win is a surprise for us," said Joel Retornaz, the Italian skip, or captain. "But we're just proud winning games for the curling."
The United States tied it at 4 in the seventh but gave up the lead again when Italy scored one in the eighth. In the ninth, with Pete Fenson holding the hammer -- the big advantage that comes with throwing the last rock -- U.S. vice-skip Shawn Rojeski missed with his second shot.
That meant Fenson had to try to take out two stones with his first shot; he got one. The teams traded takeouts and the Italians broke serve with a one-point steal.
"We realized we were getting to the point where we could win the game," said Retornaz.
The "I-tal-ia!" chants grew louder, buttressed with whistling and screaming and even the occasional cheer at the wrong time.
Trailing by two in the final end -- or inning -- Fenson had to try a nearly impossible shot with his last rock: a bump-and-run that needed to move a guarding stone up and follow it into the target area.
When Fenson couldn't put both rocks into the house, the game was over -- and Retornaz didn't even need to throw the hammer, the game's last stone. As the United States conceded and the teams shook hands, it took the inexperienced crowd a moment to realize it was over.
Men's Curling Yesterday's Results Finland 7, New Zealand 5 Norway 9, Sweden 4 Canada 9, Britain 5 Italy 6, United States 5 Britain 6, Norway 3 Canada 7, Switzerland 5 Germany 5, Finland 2 Today's Matches Britain vs. Germany Switzerland vs. New Zealand United States vs. Sweden (USA, 6-11 a.m.) Norway vs. Canada
