(FREDERICTON, NB) The 2023 Subway Atlantic University Sport Curling Championships began Thursday at the Capital Winter Club in Fredericton, NB. The event features six institutions and four provinces, all vying for the coveted AUS banner and a spot in the U SPORTS Curling Championships in March.  

The women's field is made up of the host University of New Brunswick (UNB) REDS, Memorial University (MUN) Seahawks, Saint Mary's University (SMU) Huskies, Dalhousie University Tigers, Mount Allison University (MTA) Mounties and University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) Panthers, while the men's side saw Memorial, SMU, UNB and Dalhousie face off against each other. 

MUN (1-0) vs MTA (0-1) 

The Seahawks were dominant in their opening match stealing three ends to jump out to an early lead before finishing off the Mounties in the seventh end with a six-point steal. 

UNB (1-0) vs SMU (0-1) 

It took an extra end, but the UNB REDS were able to score a 6-5 victory over the SMU Huskies in their opening draw.

The team's traded points back-and-forth in this intense match but the REDS were able to come out on top in the extra frame. 

UPEI (1-0) vs DAL (0-1) 

In one of the closer matches of the opening draw the UPEI Panthers defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 5-4 in comeback fashion.

It was a tight match, with the Tigers holding a 4-2 lead before UPEI skip Rachel MacLean hit a tremendousdraw shot to help the Panthers score three points in the final end and win the game. 

All teams are back in action Friday as the championships continue with draws two, three and four of the round-robin. 

Live end scoring can be found on the Curling Canada website at www.curling.ca  

RECAP AND PHOTOS BY: Evan Richtsfeld/UNB Athletics