Chicago woman on champion U.S. curling team

FARGO, N.D. — Erika Brown, Debbie McCormick, Jessica Schultz and Ann Swisshelm earned the U.S. women’s curling spots in the Sochi Olympics on Saturday night.

The Brown rink beat Allison Pottinger’s team 8-7 to sweep the playoffs at Scheels Arena.

“We all wanted to get back there, that’s for sure,” Brown said. “Everyone played so great all week, but the last three games we really played the best we could when we needed to.”

Brown, from Madison, Wis., was the vice skip in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

McCormick, from Rio, Wis., advanced to her fourth Olympics. Schultz, from Minneapolis, and Swisshelm, from Chicago, each earned their second Olympics berth.

The men’s team will be decided Sunday in the final match between John Shuster of Duluth, Minn., and Pete Fenson of Bemidji, Minn.