Geoff Goodland's USA men's team got past Germany's Klaus Unterstab rink, 5-2, last night in their first game of the tournament.

Oleinik (Brookfield, Wis.) and teammates Laurie Rahn (Lake Forest, Ill.), JoAnn Matthews (New Berlin, Wis.), Susan Curtis (Rogers, Ark.) and Donna Purkey (Greenwich, Conn.) led the entire match against Sweden's Ingrid Meldahl in the morning game starting out with one in the first end and a steal of one in the second. The teams then traded singles in the next four ends with the USA women stealing another single in the seventh to take a 5-2 lead. A deuce by Sweden in the final eighth end wasn't enough to outlast the Americans.

In the afternoon game, the USA women easily got past Fiona Turnbull's Ireland team building a 6-1 lead after four ends on the strength of a triple in the third and a steal of two in the fourth. Ireland posted one in the fifth and the American sealed the game with a deuce in the sixth, which prompted the Irish ladies to concede.

The U.S. women are currently tied for first place at 3-0 with Switzerland's Renate Nedkoff. Canada and Scotland are just a game back at 2-0. The U.S. women return to the ice at 7 tonight against Scotland.

The U.S. men had a bye in the first men's draw, taking the ice for the first time last night. Goodland (Eau Claire, Wis.) and teammates Stan Vinge (Waunakee, Wis.), Wally Henry (Beaver Dam, Wis.), Jim Wilson (Winnetka, Ill.) and Mark Swandby (Madison, Wis.) mastered in steals to post a 5-2 win over the Germans. The American men took the lead in the fourth end with a steal of one after trading single points with the Germans. The teams once again traded singles in the next two ends but the Americans ended the match stealing consecutive ends.

The U.S. men play Norway at 8:30 a.m. and France at 3:30 p.m. today. All game times are Mountain Time (two hours behind Eastern time).

All games will be eight ends in length with extra ends used to break ties if necessary. The top four teams in the women's standing advance to the semifinals while the top two teams from Pool A and Pool B in the men's division advance. The men's and women's gold medal games are scheduled for 3 p.m. March 31.

Men's standings:
Pool A
Sweden 2-0
Japan 2-0
USA 1-0
Wales 1-0
Germany 0-2
France 0-2
Norway 0-2

Pool B
Scotland 2-0
Ireland 1-0
Finland 1-1
New Zealand 1-1
England 1-1
Canada 0-1
Switzerland 0-2

Women's standings:
Switzerland 3-0
USA 3-0
Canada 2-0
Scotland 2-0
England 2-1
Germany 2-1
Finland 1-2
Sweden 0-2
Japan 0-3
Ireland 0-3
New Zealand 0-3

USA Curling is sponsored by AIT Worldwide Logistics, AmerAust Technologies and Nike as well as by AT&T, General Motors, The Home Depot, and Bank of America through a joint marketing program with the U.S. Olympic Committee.

For more information: Terry Luder, USA Curling, terry.luder@usacurl.org, 715-344-1199