Eagan's Peterson sisters find Olympics 'the kind of thing you dream about'

BEIJING — Tabitha and Tara Peterson have always been close. The sisters from Eagan do lots of things together, like cross-country skiing in the winter, bike rides in the summer and weekend meetups with friends.

All those things are fun. None of them are nearly as entertaining as their latest sibling adventure, representing the U.S. in women's curling at the Beijing Olympics.

"It's so cool to be able to share this,'' Tabitha Peterson said. "I was so thrilled to see Tara's reaction when we won at the Olympic trials, because it's her first time. It feels extra special to be going with her.''

As the U.S. began play in the women's tournament Thursday with a 9-3 victory over Russia, Tabitha Peterson returned to the Olympics in a new role, as skip of a reconfigured version of the 2018 U.S. Olympic team. Tara joined the group to play lead when Aileen Geving took a maternity leave after the Pyeongchang Games. Former skip Nina Roth is playing third, Becca Hamilton is in the second spot, and Geving, of Duluth, is back as alternate.The U.S. opens against the Russian Olympic Committee at 7:05 p.m. Minnesota time Wednesday.

Along the road to the Winter Games, the team dealt with COVID-related complications such as the cancellation of tournaments and temporary closures of their gyms and curling clubs. Two members also have been on the front lines of the pandemic. Roth is a nurse, and Tabitha Peterson is a pharmacist who has injected "tons and tons'' of arms with COVID vaccines.

The close-knit group remained at the top of its game, winning a bronze medal at last year's world championships and topping a tightly contested Olympic trials. Their goal in Beijing is to improve on their eighth-place finish from 2018, with big sister Tabitha directing the strategy and little sister Tara providing some Olympic-rookie spark.

"Even though Tab, Nina, Becca and Aileen had curled together for three years, I had played with all of them before,'' Tara Peterson said. "The relationships were already there.

"We're friends on the ice and outside of the ice, and that really helps. It's easy to be honest and open with our communication, and to pick each other up when we need to. And we all have slightly different personalities. It just clicks.''

The Peterson rink entered the Olympics ranked sixth in the world. Their world championships bronze, won in a COVID-bubble environment in Calgary, ended a 15-year medal drought for the U.S. at that event.

Tara Peterson, a dentist, played with Tabitha for several years in the junior ranks. When Geving took time off to have a baby in 2018, Peterson was just finishing dental school at the University of Minnesota. Peterson couldn't resist the opportunity to rejoin her sister at the elite level, and she currently practices dentistry part time, working around her curling schedule.

Tabitha has flexible hours at her two pharmacy jobs, though COVID has kept her busy. Being "part of the solution'' as a health care worker has been rewarding, she said. So has her new role as skip.

Peterson's only experience at the position had come at one junior bonspiel, and in the casual environment of league play. When Roth announced her leave, the other members of the team agreed Peterson should assume the skip's duties, and she didn't hesitate.

"I guess [skipping] once a week in league for years and years made it feel a little more comfortable for me,'' Peterson said. "Everyone looks to the skip for leadership and decisionmaking, so we had to fine-tune that. But we do a lot of work behind the scenes on our game plan, and I've gotten practice at making those decisions that happen later in the game.''

Tara said her sister is well-suited to the position. While Tara describes herself as the "wild, fun'' member of the team, Tabitha's serenity keeps the group steady.

"She's very welcoming, very mellow,'' Tara said of Tabitha. "With skipping, there is so much pressure. And she doesn't let it get to her.

"In one of the first tournaments where she was skipping, she had to make the draw to the button for the win in an extra end. Maybe she was shaking inside, but you couldn't tell by looking at her. She was stone cold.''

At the world championships, the group got a preview of the locked-down life they are living in Beijing. They brought games, coloring books and TV streaming sticks to fill the time and prevent themselves from obsessing over matches during five weeks in the Calgary bubble.

Once the tournament got going, they settled into a routine. They expect to do the same at the Olympics, starting with the opener against Russia.

The U.S. rink got off to a strong start Thursday, scoring two points in the first end. The Americans never trailed, stretching the lead to 6-1 after five ends and earning a concession after scoring three in the seventh.

Tabitha Peterson said even if COVID wasn't a factor, eight of the 10 teams in the Olympic tournament probably could win the gold. The threat of a positive test means lineups could be scrambled, creating more unpredictability. The last major pre-Olympic tournament also was canceled, forcing teams to try to stay sharp on their own.

Having a sister as a teammate made that easier for the Petersons. To replicate a little bit of pressure — and have a little extra fun — Tabitha and Tara put some low-stakes wagers on their practices, with $5 or $10 going to the winner of an end.

Whatever happens at the Olympics, they already feel like they hit the jackpot.

"Curling at the Olympics with your sister? This is the kind of thing you dream about,'' Tara said. "But not many people get to see it to fruition. We feel so fortunate to have this opportunity.''