Team Peterson put on a masterclass to complete the sweep of Team Cousins and win the U.S. Olympic Curling Trials championship.
The game was tightly-contested through seven ends with Peterson leading Cousins 5-4 heading into the eighth. Skip Tabitha Peterson scored a deuce with her hammer throw, extending her rink’s advantage by two. An errant final shot in the ninth end by skip Elizabeth Cousins missed everything in the house, giving Peterson the steal (their second of the game) and a four-point cushion. It proved to be insurmountable.
For Tabitha and her sister Tara Peterson, it’s their second consecutive Team Trials victory. This time around, they did it alongside two new rink-mates, Cory Thiesse and Taylor Anderson-Heide, as well as two new little ones at home. Tara gave birth to her son, Eddie, in September of 2024 and Tabitha gave birth to her daughter, Noelle, two months later. The mothers took time away from the team to be with their infants, and when they returned to the ice, they had to make some scheduling adjustments.
“Our team is practicing a lot differently," Tara explained after the contest. "It's all about quality now over quantity because we're a little bit busier these days.”
Whatever they’re doing, it’s clearly working.
With the victory, Team Peterson takes a giant step forward on the road to Milan Cortina. However, they have not yet officially qualified for the Olympics. The Trials victory earned them the opportunity to compete against seven other countries — Norway, Japan, Turkiye, Estonia, Czechia, Germany and Australia — in the Olympic Qualification Event (OQE) in December. The rinks that finish with the two best records in OQE play will move onto the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Of course, Team Peterson's sweeper Thiesse already has locked in her spot at the 2026 Games with mixed doubles partner Korey Dropkin and may have the opportunity to pull double duty.
“If you would have told me that I would have a chance to compete in both disciplines in Cortina, it's a dream come true,” she marveled. “I'll have already played a whole [mixed doubles] tournament on that ice and with those rocks, so I think it's a huge advantage too.”
In curling’s 28-year Olympic history (post-hiatus), the United States never has claimed a medal in the women’s event. At the 2022 Beijing Games, Tabitha Peterson skipped a squad that finished sixth.
The OQE will be held in Kelowna, Canada from Dec. 5-18. At the Olympics, the women's curling event is scheduled for Feb. 12 - 22.