CHRISTINE Cannon, Claire Milne, Mhairi Milne, and Janice Watt made it

three wins in a row yesterday when they defeated Denmark's Helena

Blach-Lavrsen 8-4 in the third round of the world curling championships

in Oberstdorf, Germany.

Cannon was always in control, and the Scots took singles in the second

and third ends to go ahead 2-1 and two more in the fifth for a 5-2

halfway lead.

Canada's Sandra Petersen, the reigning world champion, and Elisabeth

Johansson, the 1992 winner, are fully expected to contest the final in

the women's division at the weekend, but if Cannon and her team can

continue to play as well as they have so far, they have a good

opportunity to be up there with the best.

Colin Hamilton has been having a dismal time in the men's event. His

Livingston side lost 7-4 to the USA last night and remain winless after

three rounds.

The Scots had a chance to tie the game against the Americans in the

last end but third, Bob Kelly, caught a guard in trying to draw behind

to lie two.

Hamilton's men had decided to attempt to come round the guard for a

second time to win the game with three shots in the tenth end, but the

Baird team never looked like giving up three and after the guard was

touched the American skip hit the Scottish stone out for the game.

Results:

WOMEN. Third round -- Scotland 8, Denmark 4; Sweden 8, Germany 4;

Canada 8, Switzerland 3; USA 7, Norway 3; Finland 9, Japan 5.

Standings -- Canada, Scotland 3-0; Norway, Germany, Sweden 2-1;

Switzerland, Finland, USA 1-2; Denmark, Japan 0-3.

Scotland0 1 1 0 2 1 0 2 1 X - 8

Denmark 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 X - 4

Percentages -- Scotland (Denmark) C Cannon 69 (H Blach-Lavrsen) 50; C

Milne 78 (A Jensen 70); M Milne 78 (M Portner 51); J Watt 78 (H Jensen

31).

MEN. Second round -- Sweden 10, Scotland 4; Denmark 7, USA 5;

Switzerland 7, Australia 4; Canada 7, Netherlands 3; Germany 10, Norway

8.

Third round. Men -- USA 7, Scotland 4; Germany 10, Australia 9 (extra

end); Netherlands 9, Denmark 8 (extra end); Sweden 8, Switzerland 7

(extra end); Canada 10, Norway 6.

Standings after three rounds -- Germany 3-0. Denmark, Canada,

Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, USA 2-1. Australia, Norway, Scotland

0-3. Ends:

Scotland 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0-4.

USA 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1-7.