Team Shuster made an emphatic statement on Day 1 of the U.S. Olympic Curling Team Trials, crushing both of their opponents and leaving the ice with a 2-0 record in round-robin play.
The dominance began in their Session 1 matchup against Team Hebert, the youngest rink in the men’s event. Hebert jumped out to an early lead, putting the first points on the board, but as soon as the seventh end finished, Shuster sat comfortably in the driver’s seat. They wound up winning 8-3 in nine ends.
A few hours later, Team Shuster pummeled Team Casper, the ninth-ranked curling rink in the world and arguably the hottest team coming into the Trials. A 10-2 shellacking finished with Casper conceding after the sixth end.
Team Casper did put forth a valiant effort earlier in the day during Session 1, knocking off the reigning national champions Team Dropkin in an exciting game that saw Dropkin come back from a 7-3 deficit after eight ends, scoring two clutch points in the ninth and two in the tenth to force an extra end. The pendulum swung back into Team Casper’s favor and they escaped with a hard fought 9-7 win.
Team Dropkin found their groove during Session 2, taking down Team Hebert 8-2 in a game that lasted just seven ends.
Men's event standings after Day 1
| Team Shuster | 2-0 |
| Team Dropkin | 1-1 |
| Team Casper | 1-1 |
| Team Hebert | 0-2 |
On the women’s side, Team Peterson demonstrated why they are the best rink in the country, cruising to a pair of decisive victories.
During Session 1, they rode the momentum of a huge eighth end, in which they tallied four points to gain separation from Team Cousins and notch a 9-5 win.
In the evening, they dropped the hammer on Team Johnson, a squad that has the youngest skip at the Trials (Allory Johnson, age 17), 10-4 in nine ends.
Team Cousins avenged their Session 1 loss, storming back from five points down to claim a gusty victory in extra ends against Team Strouse.
Women's event standings after Day 1
| Team Peterson | 2-0 |
| Team Cousins | 1-1 |
| Team Strouse | 1-1 |
| Team Johnson | 0-2 |
Tune into Day 2 of the Team Trials, Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. ET on Peacock, where the unbeaten Team Shuster will face Team Dropkin and Team Peterson will take on Team Strouse as round-robin play continues.