SWEDEN SET THE PACE

Swedish coach Asa Larsson (pictured left of group) inspired the Swedish quintet to great things Thursday morning as they totalled a massive 3208 over the three games on the short oil pattern.

Going into the third game with a slender eight pin lead over the Netherlands, the Swedes had to pile on the strikes as Dutch lead Marieke de Jong solidly hit the pocket for a 278, the highest game of the day.

A  nerve-wracking tenth frame tested the skills of both teams and the Swedes emerged with 1147 to the Dutch 1141 so have a 14 point buffer going into the final three games, on long oil, tomorrow.

All credit to the Latvian girls with their 2892 taking third place in this first of two squads today.

Several teams put together a strong challenge to top the score set by the Swedes in the opening squad today, but none succeeded.

The best of the bunch were those dominant Danes (pictured) who fell short of their aim with a lowly first game of 964. They followed up with two games of 1113 and 1088 to put them top of the squad and in third place overall at the close of the short oil squad.

The final three games tomorrow will be played on the long oil pattern. The top four team will advance to the semifinals for a one-game playoff for a spot in the final.

The top 12 teams after today will be seeded into squad two Friday afternoon.

TEAM EVENT - SQUADS 1 & 2:
Games 1 - 3 Short Oil - 4 - 6 Long Oil:

SEMIFINALS:

SWEDEN vs NETHERLANDS
DENMARK vs FINLAND
See page TEAM FINALS