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 (1994-12-16) December 16, 1994 (age 29)
Team
Curling clubBemidji CC,
Bemidji, MN[1]
SkipKorey Dropkin
ThirdAndrew Stopera
SecondMark Fenner
LeadThomas Howell
Mixed doubles
partner
Delaney Strouse
Curling career
Member Association United States
World Championship
appearances
1 (2022)
Pan Continental Championship
appearances
2 (2022, 2023)
Medal record
Curling
Representing  United States
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 2016 Copenhagen
Pan Continental Curling Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Calgary
U.S. Men's Championship
Gold medal – first place 2021 Wausau
Silver medal – second place 2024 East Rutherford
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Denver

Curling career

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In 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

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Men's

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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

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Season Male Female Events
2014–15 Mark Fenner Tina Persinger 2015 USMDCC (SF)

References

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  1. ^ "USA Curling National Team Athletes". USA Curling. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "Mark Fenner". Team USA. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  3. ^ Bardsley, Len (April 4, 2013). "St. Rose student makes most of Olympic experience". The Coast Star. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  4. ^ Monteith, Austin (March 7, 2018). "Fensons share family passion at USA Curling Nationals". Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "Next Gen Curling Stars Take 2021 U.S. Titles". Sports Illustrated. May 31, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  7. ^ "CURLING: 3 Bemidjians win men's national championship". Yahoo News. May 31, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  8. ^ "2014 USA Junior Men's Championship - Playoffs". CurlingZone. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
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