Smeltzer Still In Hunt At AUS Championships

(HALIFAX, NS) UNB's Justine Comeau clinched a spot in Saturday's women's semi-finals at the Subway Atlantic University Sport Curling Championships, in Halifax, on Friday.

Comeau went 2-and-1 Friday, scoring a 9-2 win over St FX and a 9-6 win over Saint Mary's, before falling 6-2 to Memorial.

"This morning, we all played super well," said Comeau, of her team's win over the X-Women. "We all hit our spots and weren't missing much."

Comeau admits the team struggled early against the Huskies, but was able to rebound.

"We knew what we were struggling with and we did go back and fix it," she said. "I feel really good that we were able to bounce back that quickly in a game and come out with a win."

The women close the round robin portion of their tournament on Saturday afternoon when they face unbeaten Dalhousie. The winner will finish first overall.

On the men's side, the Reds' Jack Smeltzer rink continued to struggle.

UNB dropped both of their games on Friday, losing 9-2 to Saint Mary's and 8-3 to Dalhousie.

"The game this morning was not our best. I, personally, did not live up to what I could be," said Smeltzer. "I feel the scoreboard wasn't indicative of how close the game was, but a loss is a loss."

Smeltzer's foursome is 0-and-3 with one draw left to play, but still in contention for a semi-final berth.

"Playoff hopes are still alive, somehow, at 0-and-3. That's all it takes," said Smeltzer. "We need to focus on getting the win, getting some momentum, walk a little taller, smile a little brighter."

Day three begins Saturday, at noon, with the fifth and final draw, followed by the semi-finals at 7:00pm.

The AUS finals go Sunday at 10:00am.

All four finalists will earn berths to the U SPORTS Championships, March 11-15, in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

TEAM STANDINGS

Men
Memorial Sea-Hawks (4-0)

Dalhousie Tigers (2-1)
Saint Mary's Huskies (2-1)
St FX X-Men (0-3)
UNB Reds (0-3)

Women
Dalhousie Tigers (4-0)
UNB Reds (3-1)

Memorial Sea-Hawks (2-2)
Mount Allison Mounties (2-2)

Saint Mary's Huskies (1-3)
St FX X-Women (0-4)

RECAP BY: UNB Athletics and Dominic Nolasco/for SMU Athletics

PHOTOS BY: Nick Pearce/for SMU Athletics