Mark Fenner (born November 16, 1994) is an American curler from Bemidji, Minnesota.[2] He currently plays second on Team Korey Dropkin. He is a two-time junior national champion and won his first United States Men's National Championship in 2021.
| Mark Fenner | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 16, 1994 |
| Team | |
| Curling club | Bemidji CC, Bemidji, MN[1] |
| Skip | Korey Dropkin |
| Third | Andrew Stopera |
| Second | Mark Fenner |
| Lead | Thomas Howell |
| Mixed doubles partner | Delaney Strouse |
Curling career  | |
| Member Association |  United States |
| World Championship appearances | 1 (2022) |
| Pan Continental Championship appearances | 2 (2022, 2023) |
Curling career
editIn juniors, Fenner played second for skip Korey Dropkin, medalling four years in a row at the United States Junior Curling Championships. This included two gold medals in 2013 and 2016. The team also consisted of Tom Howell at third and Alex Fenson at lead, except for the 2014–15 season when Andrew Stopera played lead. At the 2013 World Junior Curling Championships in Sochi, Russia, they finished in seventh place with a record of 4–5.[3] At their second trip to the World Juniors in 2016, they found more success, finishing the round-robin in first place with a record of 8–1. In the 1 vs 2 page playoff game they lost to Bruce Mouat's Team Scotland, but they defeated Switzerland's Yannick Schwaller in the semifinal to face Scotland again in the championship game. Fenner and Team United States lost to Mouat again in the final, to finish with the silver medal.
Upon moving from juniors to men's, Fenner and Alex Fenson played as the front end for Pete Fenson for two seasons. Pete Fenson, Alex's father, is also an Olympian and seven-time national champion.[4] During these two seasons, from 2016 to 2018, Dropkin and Howell played as the front end for Heath McCormick, but for the 2018–19 season Dropkin, Howell, Fenner, and Fenson reunited to compete together again.[5] The next season Team Dropkin brought on Joe Polo, a highly experienced curler who was the alternate on the gold medal-winning team at the 2018 Winter Olympics, as a fifth teammate and experimented with various lineups throughout the season. The five-person team found success at the 2021 US Men's Championship, finishing the round-robin in first place with a 7–2 record. In the playoffs, Team Dropkin defeated Jed Brundidge's team in the 1 vs 2 page playoff game and then again in the final to secure their first Men's National Championship.[6][7] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Championship was conducted after the 2021 World Men's Championship so Team Dropkin will not represent the United States at World's, but they did secure a spot at the Olympic Trials in the fall of 2021.
Teams
editMen's
edit| Season | Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Alternate | Coach | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13 | Korey Dropkin | Tom Howell | Mark Fenner | Alex Fenson | Connor Hoge | Keith Dropkin | 2013 USJCC  2013 WJCC (7th) |
| 2013–14 | Korey Dropkin | Tom Howell | Mark Fenner | Alex Fenson | 2014 USJCC  [8]
| ||
| 2014–15 | Korey Dropkin | Tom Howell | Mark Fenner | Andrew Stopera | Luc Violette | 2015 USJCC  2015 USMCC (6th) | |
| 2015–16 | Korey Dropkin | Tom Howell | Mark Fenner | Alex Fenson | Quinn Evenson | Wally Henry (WJCC) |
2016 USMCC (4th) 2016 USJCC 2016 WJCC
|
| 2016–17 | Pete Fenson | Jared Zezel | Mark Fenner | Alex Fenson | 2017 USMCC (5th) | ||
| 2017–18 | Pete Fenson | Shawn Rojeski | Mark Fenner | Alex Fenson | 2018 USMCC (T6th) | ||
| 2018–19 | Korey Dropkin (fourth) | Tom Howell | Mark Fenner (skip) | Alex Fenson | 2019 USMCC (4th) | ||
| 2019–20 | Korey Dropkin | Tom Howell | Mark Fenner | Alex Fenson | Joe Polo | 2020 USMCC (5th) | |
| 2020–21 | Korey Dropkin | Joe Polo | Mark Fenner | Tom Howell | Alex Fenson | 2021 USMCC
| |
| 2021–22 | Korey Dropkin | Joe Polo | Mark Fenner | Tom Howell | Alex Fenson | Tim Solin | 2021 USOCT 2022 WCC (4th) |
| 2022–23 | Korey Dropkin | Andrew Stopera | Mark Fenner | Tom Howell | 2022 PCCC 2023 USMCC
| ||
| 2023–24 | Korey Dropkin (Fourth) | Andrew Stopera (Skip) | Mark Fenner | Tom Howell | 2023 PCCC (4th) 2024 USMCC
| ||
| 2024–25 | Korey Dropkin | Andrew Stopera | Mark Fenner | Tom Howell |
Mixed doubles
edit| Season | Male | Female | Events |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Mark Fenner | Tina Persinger | 2015 USMDCC (SF) |
References
edit- ^ "USA Curling National Team Athletes". USA Curling. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ "Mark Fenner". Team USA. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ Bardsley, Len (April 4, 2013). "St. Rose student makes most of Olympic experience". The Coast Star. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ Monteith, Austin (March 7, 2018). "Fensons share family passion at USA Curling Nationals". Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ Davis, Terry (May 18, 2018). "USA CURLING HIGH PERFORMANCE PROGRAM ATHLETES NAMED". USA Curling. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Next Gen Curling Stars Take 2021 U.S. Titles". Sports Illustrated. May 31, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "CURLING: 3 Bemidjians win men's national championship". Yahoo News. May 31, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "2014 USA Junior Men's Championship - Playoffs". CurlingZone. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
External links
edit- Mark Fenner at World Curling
- Mark Fenner at Team USA (archived)
