U.S. Mixed Doubles Into Playoffs

Until this week, it had been over a year since Chris Plys and Vicky Persinger were on the ice together in a major mixed doubles tournament.

Reunited this week at the 2023 U.S. Mixed Doubles Curling National Championship in Kalamazoo, Mich., it’s almost like they haven’t missed a beat since the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The duo ran through round-robin play with a perfect 7-0 mark in Pool A that included Plys’ four-player teammates, Matt Hamilton and John Shuster. With the top winning record in Pool A, Plys and Persinger received a bye directly into tonight’s semifinal at 7:00 pm (ET).

“We haven’t had a chance to play much since Beijing,” Plys said. “(We) had a couple quarterfinal finishes in Denver and Madison, but it’s been a pretty solid week here in the ’Zoo.

“In the round robin, we had some really solid games and some good enough games, but none of it matters anymore.”

Tonight they’ll face Andrew Stopera and Sarah Anderson in one semifinal. Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse went undefeated in Pool B and will face off against Ben Richardson and Taylor Anderson in the second semi.

Plys and Persinger have been teammates for several years and they’ve got strong chemistry on and off the ice. Tonight it will be put to the test with a spot in Sunday’s final on the line hosted by the Kalamazoo Curling Club.

“We’re just gonna go out there and hopefully play well and let the chips fall where they fall,” Plys said Saturday afternoon. “It’s been a fun surface to play on and really gives you an opportunity to be creative and have pretty much all shots at your disposal.”

Fans can watch both semifinal games online tonight via CurlingZone’s Curling Stadium platform.