Chris Plys and Vicky Persinger still need to qualify for the curling mixed doubles competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, and they're getting closer to accomplishing that goal at the final Olympic Qualification Event.
Plys and Persinger need to finish as one of the top two duos at the 14-team Olympic Qualification Event in the Netherlands in order to earn a spot for the Games, and so far they're one of only three remaining unbeaten teams at the event.
After taking down Japan's Chiaki Matsumura and Yasumasa Tanida, followed by a win over Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill of Estonia on Sunday, Plys and Persinger earned their third win of the Olympic Qualification Event Monday with a big 7-5 victory over the Finnish pairing of Oona Kauste and Aku Kauste.
Plys and Persinger trailed the Kaustes 3-2 after the game's first four ends, but they flipped the script later on to outscore the Finns 5-2 in the second half, headlined by a clutch three-point performance in the seventh end.
The U.S. duo continued their strong play Tuesday with a 10-3 drubbing of Latvia's Daina Barone and Arnis Veidemanis. They took a three-point lead in the first end and never once even thought of looking back. Their tilt against Mhairi-Bronte Duncan and Brett Sargon of New Zealand was much of the same. After Duncan and Sargon took an early 1-0, the U.S. exploded with a massive five-point performance in the second end. From there, it was smooth sailing for the Americans as they outscored New Zealand 4-2 until the seventh end, where Duncan and Sargon conceded.
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Plys and Persinger will be back at it again Wednesday when they take on South Korea in their final non-playoff game. Korea, along with the U.S. and Australia, is also undefeated going into Wednesday's action.
