UNB Women Will Play For A Medal At U SPORTS Championships
(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB Reds women's curling team will play for a medal on Saturday after going 2-0 on the final day of round-robin play at the U SPORTS Curling Championships.
UNB secured a decisive 6-2 victory over Waterloo to start the day, followed by a thrilling 7-6 win against the Mount Allison Mounties, where they stole three in the tenth end.
"It's been a long day, but we're pretty happy with how things ended up," said UNB skip Jenna Campbell. "Stealing three to win doesn't feel good all the time, but it works for us today."
The REDS began the day with both teams still in contention for the playoffs.
The men kicked off day four with a crucial matchup against the Guelph Gryphons, as both teams vied for the final playoff spot in the standings. The REDS started strong, scoring a triple in the second end to take an early 3-0 lead. After trading doubles in the third and fourth ends, the REDS extended their lead to 7-2 by stealing two in the fifth. Guelph skip Jayden King's missed double takeout on his final shot further solidifying UNB's advantage. The REDS continued to dominate, stealing two more ends to secure a 10-2 victory, setting the stage for an evening showdown with their Atlantic University Sport rivals, the Dalhousie Tigers, with the final spot in the medal rounds up for grabs.
“I thought we had a really strong start in our first game,” said UNB skip Jamie Stewart. “We took advantage of any misses from the opposing team and kept things simple, staying in the moment and keeping consistent throughout the entire game.”
In the final draw for the men, the REDS started off the game by forcing the Tigers to blank the first two ends, thanks to some excellent shooting from Stewart, including a double takeout on his last stone in the second end. The Tigers got on the board first with a double in the third end. Despite UNB lying two, Tigers skip Owen Purcell made a great shot to knock out the two UNB rocks, making it 2-0. The REDS responded by scoring a double in the fourth end to even the score at 2-2. Dalhousie scored another deuce in the fifth end to regain the lead, 4-2, at the halfway point. After the break, UNB scored a single in the fifth before stealing the seventh and eighth ends to jump ahead of the Tigers, 5-4. Dalhousie answered with a double in the ninth end, regaining the lead, 6-5. In the tenth end, Stewart nailed his draw on his final stone to tie the game and force an extra end. However, in the extra end, the Tigers prevailed as Stewart, who had been outstanding all day, just missed his final attempt, giving Dalhousie the single in the eleventh and the win, 7-6.
“We made the best of the opportunities that we were given,” said Stewart. “We made them make some hard shots but unfortunately we came up just short after a few key misses.”
With the loss, UNB was eliminated from playoff contention, ending their season.
“The players came out to play in this final day of competition giving it all they had to finish strong,” said UNB head coach Lindsey MacKnight. “They proved to themselves and their many supporters that they can compete with these top teams. I feel very privileged to be a part of their curling experience and look forward to seeing them compete in the future.”
The women started the day facing off against the Waterloo Warriors in a crucial must-win game to remain in playoff contention. The game started off tight, with the teams exchanging singles to begin. A double takeout from Waterloo skip Celia Evans forced the REDS to settle for a single in the fourth, holding a narrow 2-1 lead. The Warriors leveled the score at 2-2 with a single in the fifth. However, UNB surged ahead with a single in the sixth end, followed by three consecutive stolen ends, putting them up 6-2. The teams ended up shaking hands in the tenth after the Warriors ran out of stones, giving UNB the 6-2 win and keeping their playoff hopes alive heading into the final draw.
“I thought we had a really strong game this morning,” said Campbell. “We stayed patient throughout and were able to capitalize on some misses from them to finish strong.”
In the final draw of the day, the REDS were matched up against a familiar Atlantic University Sports foe in the Mount Allison Mounties. It was a closely contested battle to start with the teams locked in a 3-3 tie after five ends when Mount Allison skip Olivia Wynter made a great draw with her final shot to even the game. Coming out of the break, the Mounties were able to string together three consecutive stolen ends to gain some separation leading 6-3 after the eighth end. The REDS scored a single in the ninth end to bring them within two but would be in tough heading into the tenth end without the hammer. In the final end, the REDS were lying three heading into the last shot for the Mounties, when Wynter just missed her final shot handing the REDS a steal of three and the victory, 7-6.
With their win over the Mounties, UNB was able to move up to the second seed in the women’s standings and will face Waterloo in the semi-finals on Saturday at 9:30 am at the Capital Winter Club. The Alberta Pandas, who finished round-robin play undefeated at 7-0, will face the Dalhousie Tigers in the other semi-final. The medal games will get underway at 2:30 pm.
“We’ll have to play like we did this morning against them,” said Campbell. “We have some things we’re able to take forward from that game that I think we can build on.”
WOMEN’S STANDINGS
- Alberta Pandas 5-0
- UNB REDS 4-3
- Waterloo Warriors 4-3
- Dalhousie Tigers 4-3
- McMaster Marauders 3-4
- Laurentian Voyageurs 3-4
- Victoria Vikes 2-5
- Mount Allison Mounties 1-6
MEN’S STANDINGS
- Alberta Golden Bears 6-1
- Laurier Golden Hawks 5-2
- Dalhousie Tigers 5-2
- Regina Cougars 4-3
- UNB REDS 3-4
- Guelph Gryphons 3-4
- Saint Mary’s Huskies 1-6
- Brock Badgers 1-6
RECAP BY: Evan Richtsfeld/ UNB Athletics
PHOTOS BY: Rob Blanchard/ for Curling Canada