 A five at the opening end of their first-ever match together in a major international competition sent Katie McMillan and Angus Bryce on their way to a dominant victory over the USA at the ACE & Company World Mixed Doubles Championships in Geneva. Scotland's representatives headed into the event on the back of their impressive victory at the national championships earlier this year, and they could not have made a better start as they ran out 12-2 winners in just six ends over fellow tournament debutants Rachel Kawleski and Connor Kauffman. "We both felt pretty good pre-game, and having a good practice definitely helped, so we felt comfortable with the surface and how the ice was running," said Bryce. "We then got off to a good start and asked the question in the first end, and it definitely paid off." While an early lead can sometimes create different pressure as teams get caught between looking to push on in similar vein and managing the scoreboard, the Scots then stole at each of the next two ends to extend their lead to seven points, allowing them to adapt to the environment and conditions in a position of relative comfort. "We kept control around the four-foot and left them tricky shots to score, which was nice to keep pushing after the first end, which obviously went well for us," Bryce continued. "We feel very good out here and can't complain about the start we have made, so now we just have to keep giving it our all and hope that puts us in a good spot later in the week." They know they will face tougher challenges on the second day of the competition as they face their first two-game day against opponents who will be determined to recover from having lost their opening matches, so they are also looking to maximize the advantage of getting off the ice after just six of the scheduled eight ends, having had that confidence boost. "It always feels nice to get off early and especially on the winning side, and we will take all the rest we can get as it is obviously going to be a long week full of tough games ahead, but we are ready for it," said Bryce. They meet South Korea's Kim Seon-yeong and Jeong Yeong-seok at 9 am GMT, then Switzerland's Stefanie Berset and Philipp Hosli at 6 pm GMT on the second day of competition. 20 nations are taking part in The ACE & Company World Mixed Doubles Championships: Italy, Scotland, Australia, Estonia, United States, Canada, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Finland, Switzerland, Korea, Japan, Germany, Denmark, Czechia, China, France, Hungary and the Netherlands. |
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A five at the opening end of their first-ever match together in a major international competition sent Katie McMillan and Angus Bryce on their way to a dominant victory over the USA at the ACE & Company World Mixed Doubles Championships in Geneva.
