Team Sieg is USCA Team of the Year

August 26, 2015 - 1:06pm -- Doug Potter

(borrowed from the USCA press release)

Lyle Sieg's world senior championship rink is USA Curling's Team of the Year for 2015. In addition, three-time Olympian John Shuster (Duluth, Minn.) and 2012 Youth Olympian and reigning junior and mixed doubles national champion Sarah Anderson (Broomall, Pa.) have earned top individual honors for the 2014-15 season.

Sieg (Olympia, Wash.) and teammates Tom Violette (Issaquah, Wash.), Ken Trask (Seattle), Steve Lundeen (Seattle), and Duane Rutan (Olympia, Wash.) defeated Canada, 9-4, to win the 2015 World Senior Men's Championship in April in Sochi, Russia.

"USA Curling Team of the Year... Wow, what a nice surprise and honor for our senior team," said Sieg, 55. "At our age we continue to curl for the love of the game. What's so special about this team is the level of trust, support and communication both on and off the ice. This, I believe, is the definition of a true team and why curling is such a special sport. It's extremely rewarding to realize a dream that was in the making for three years prior to a championship run in 2014-15. However, I personally cherish the friendships we have developed over that same time. This, for me, is the true root of why we curl competitively and enjoy it so much. We are very humbled to be recognized by USA Curling as Team of the Year."

In addition to winning the U.S. its third world senior men's title - in undefeated fashion - the Sieg rink cruised through the U.S. Senior Nationals with a perfect record in January and also won the 2015 USA Curling Club Nationals title in March.

"These guys are very deserving of the award. They put in a lot of time, effort and hard work this year, and made a lot of personal sacrifices," said Greg Violette, coach for Team Sieg/Team USA. "They dominated their competition at the world championships, winning 10 straight games, and not one of them went to the last rock! They conducted themselves in a professional manner, and won with class and humility. It made me feel proud to be an American."

The three titles the team won this season were a first for the group. "As far as 2014-15 season, it was quite the ride but no retiring-on-top plans for this crew; we're all coming back to play and have fun in the 2015-16 season regardless of where our play might yet take us," Sieg said. "See everyone at a bonspiel or playdown soon!"