Scots keep cool to strike bronze

Curling Championship here today. Carolyn Hutchison, Julie Hepburn, Katie

Loudon and Julia Halliday picked themselves up after their semi-final

loss to Canada to defeat Cathrine Norberg's Swedish team in the play-off

for third place.

Allan Manuel, Colin Galbraith, Andrew Finlay, and Adrian Coutts went

down 5-2 to Switzerland in their bronze-medal game, and finally admitted

that their decision to quit early against Canada last Wednesday had been

gamesmanship.

The Canadians lost the men's final 7-2 to Sweden, but they won the

women's crown 10-3 against Norway.

The Scottish girls can feel proud of their performance. Norberg's side

took the advantage in the eighth when Carolyn hit and rolled out when

she needed to stay to count 2. The single shot tied the score at 4-4.

Sweden blanked the ninth, but could not keep the front clear in the last

end.

The Scots were able to get behind the cover early, and with her final

two stones, the Greenacres skip guarded a lone Scottish stone in the

front of the eight-foot circle. Miss Norberg's draw to win the game just

caught a front stone, and the Scots were happy to take their medals.

Manuel's side were no match for Markus Eggler's Swiss, their fifth

loss in six games. The Swiss skip set up two shots with a raise in the

sixth end, and when he counted two more in the eighth to go ahead 5-2,

it was all over for the Scots. Manuel admitted afterwards that they had

taken a gamble in coming off against Canada. ''It backfired on us when

we lost to Switzerland,'' he said.

Miss Hutchison's loss to Canada in the semi-final was a heart breaker.

The Greenacre's skip had played an immaculate hit and roll in the sixth

end to put her team in position for a single-shot steal. The Scots held

the advantage into an extra end.

But it proved difficult to keep the front of the house clear in the

eleventh. Carolyn's last stone was a draw attempt around Canadian stones

in the front of the 12ft circle. It was swept into four-foot circle, but

third player Julie Hepburn was seconds late in realising that it was

running on. The Scottish stone stopped an inch too far from ensuring

Scotland's place in the final.

Manuel's team held unbeaten Sweden for six ends but gave up a 3 in the

seventh, when they did not have last stone. Down 6-3, there was little

chance of getting back against the perfect-shot play of Peter Lindholm's

team. Results --

Men. Semi-finals -- Sweden 7, Scotland 4; Canada 5, Switzerland 4 (two

extra ends). Bronze medal game -- Switzerland 5, Scotland 2. Final --

Sweden 7, Canada 2.

Women. Semi-finals -- Canada 4, Scotland 3 (extra end); Norway 5,

Sweden 3. Bronze medal game -- Scotland 5, Sweden 4. Final -- Canada 10,

Norway 3.