WCURL | Voyageurs Topped by Familiar Foe at OUA Championships
The Voyageurs women's curling team headed to the OUA Championship in Guelph, ON over the weekend. After a very strong round robin, the team found themselves in a battle with a familiar foe and the result was all to similar, with the women bowing out in the quarterfinals to the Queen's Gaels.
The women opened their Championship against the Trent Excalibur and found themselves in the driver's seat throughout. After opening with a single, the women proceeded to steal points in each of the next three ends, taking a 5-0 lead into the break. Trent got on the board with a deuce in the fifth and then stole a single in the sixth but the Voyageurs squashed any hope of a comeback with three in the seventh to secure the 8-3 win. Later on day 1, the women found themselves in a defensive battle that saw them hand Ryerson a 4-2 loss.
Day 2 provided a bit more of a test as the Voyageurs found themselves down 5-2 to Western through six ends. After a single in the seventh, Kira Brunton and company stole three in the final end to snatch the 6-5 victory from the Mustangs. The team would follow that up with a 7-1 win over Waterloo later on day 2, thanks to a steal of three in the second end and a 5-0 lead before the Warriors were able to get on the board, moving the team to 4-0 for the Championship.
Heading into day 3 atop their pool, the women were looking to maintain their momentum but the day had other ideas. After stealing a pair in the seventh end to go up 5-4 on Laurier, the Golden Hawks answered with a deuce in the final end for the 6-5 win. In their second game of the day, the Voyageurs stormed out to a 6-0 lead over the Brock Badgers after the third end and cruised to a 9-3 victory to move their record to 5-1 with a single game remaining.
With a playoff spot already secured, day four's lone pool game would decide placing. Facing the Carleton Ravens, the Voyageurs found themselves tied at three after the first six but gave up a single in the seventh and a steal of two in the eight to fall 6-3. At 5-2, the women would finish third in their pool, setting up a date with the Queen's Gaels in the quarterfinals.
The Gaels and their skip, Mary Fay, stopped the Voyageurs' title run one year ago and the women were looking for some revenge this time around. The game started well as the team forced Queen's to a single in the second end before grabbing a deuce in the third and stealing a single in the fifth for a 3-1 lead. After forcing the Gaels to one in the sixth, the women were in great shape with two ends to play. The Gaels, however, had other ideas in mind as they stole a single in the seventh to tie the game at three and the Voyageurs would look to close it out, coming home with hammer. Unfortunately, Brunton missed on a draw to the four-foot with her final stone, allowing Queen's to steal a pair and the game, 5-3, ending to women's season.