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U.S. Mixed Doubles Curling Trials Day 1: Hamiltons take down Shuster/Christensen early

LONDON, CANADA - MARCH 11: A generic view in the 1 vs 2 Page Playoff game between Team Manitoba and Team Newfoundland/Labrador in the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier Canadian Men's Curling Championship on March 11, 2011 at the John Labatt Centre in London, Canada. Team Manitoba defeated Team Newfoundland/Labrador 7-6 to advance straight to Gold Medal game. (Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Day 1 of the U.S. Mixed Team Curling Trials kicked off with one of the top matchups of the tournament as the pairing of John Shuster and Cory Christensen took on brother-sister duo Matt Hamilton and Becca Hamilton.

The Hamiltons represented the U.S. for mixed doubles in PyeongChang while Shuster skipped the men's gold medal-winning squad (in which Matt also played a key role).

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SEE MORE: How to watch the U.S. Olympic Curling Mixed Doubles Trials

The game went down to the wire with both teams tied up at 5 apiece after eight ends. Shuster and Christensen were down 5-2 in the eighth end, but stormed back with a three-point advantage to force an extra end.

Their comeback fell short, though, as Becca knocked all of Shuster and Christensen's stones out of the house on the last throw of the extra end, cementing a 6-5 win for the Hamiltons.

SEE MORE: U.S. Curling Trials: Mixed Doubles Draw 1

In Draw 2, Jenna Burchesky and Ben Richardson took on Chris Plys and Vicky Persinger. This game wasn't nearly as close as the thriller from Draw 1, though. Persinger/Plys took the win by a score of 9-2, and they never trailed at any given point throughout the contest.

SEE MORE: U.S. Curling Trials: Mixed Doubles Draw 2

Persinger and Plys went on to win their second game of the day as well, making them the only team to compete on Day 1 that finished with a 2-0 record. Shuster/Christensen and the Hamiltons both lost their second game of the day.

You can find the full scores from Day 1 of the U.S. Mixed Team Curling Trials here, and standings can be found here.