AROUND OUA: Brock Invitational
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. (January 25, 2016) - Wilfrid Laurier’s men’s and women’s varsity curling teams both had a strong showing at the Brock Invitational this past weekend, hosted at the St. Catharines Golf and Country Club.
Golden Hawks go 3-1 at Brock Invitational
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. (January 25, 2016) - Wilfrid Laurier's men's and women's varsity curling teams both had a strong showing at the Brock Invitational this past weekend, hosted at the St. Catharines Golf and Country Club.
The men's team, skipped by Aaron Squires of St. Thomas, Ont., and also featuring vice Richard Krell of London, Ont., second Spencer Nuttall of Toronto, lead Fraser Reid of Ancaster, Ont., and alternate Russell Cuddie of London, Ont., posted a 3-1 record over the two-day bonspiel.
The Golden Hawks got off to a bumpy start as they dropped their opening game to the host Brock Badgers 7-4. However, Laurier rallied and won their final three games, dropping Toronto 8-1, Western 8-4 and Carleton 6-0.
In the women's event, the Hawks, skipped by Chelsea Brandwood of Beamsville, Ont., and featuring vice Brenda Holloway of Mississauga, Ont., second Evie Fortier of Ottawa, lead Megan Arnold of Waterloo, Ont., and alternate Riley Sandham of St. Catharines, Ont., also went 3-1 in the four-game bonspiel.
Laurier opened the event with back-to-back wins on Saturday over Brock (7-3) and UOIT (8-3). On Sunday morning, the Hawks dropped a narrow 5-4 decision to Guelph before rebounding to defeat Queen's 5-3.
The Hawks also had their two junior varsity teams competing in the event. The women's team went 3-1 for the weekend while the men were 1-2.
Laurier's varsity teams will now turn their attention to the OUA Championships which are set to be hosted by the Guelph Gryphons at the Guelph Curling Club from February 11-15.
Source: Laurier Golden Hawks
Varsity Blues play tough at Brock Invitational
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's and women's curling teams took to this ice this past weekend (Jan. 23-24) at the Brock Invitational to partake in a final tune-up before the OUA championships held in Guelph from Feb. 11-13.
"Both team's demonstrated they were competitive," said head coach John Rudd who is in his second year at the helm of the program. "A huge accomplishment was their strong team dynamics while playing under the pressure of some very tough competition. Mental toughness is critical at high levels of competition and both teams demonstrated excellent mental skills which will serve them well at the OUA's".
For the women, their strong mental game was matched by their strong performance finishing the weekend with a 3-1 record. On day one, the team split their matchups defeating the Waterloo Warriors 7-4 while dropping a 10-3 decision to the Queen's Gaels. They then followed that up with back-to-back victories on day two defeating the Western Mustangs 7-3 before dropping the Trent Excalibur in their final match of the invitational.
On the men's side of the draw the Varsity Blues played tougher then their 1-3 record would indicate. Splitting the opening day with an 8-3 victory over the UOIT Ridgebacks and an 8-0 loss to the Laurier Golden Hawks, Toronto dropped their day two opener 7-3 to the Queen's Gaels before ending the tournament with a loss to the McMaster Marauders.
"Both the men's and women's teams had goals going into this event," said Rudd. "First and foremost the teams wanted to test themselves against the teams they will face at OUA's. They wanted to find the gaps, if any, between themselves and the other varsity teams and those gaps will form the basis of the final training programs of the teams as we approach OUA's over the next few weeks. Both teams had a good event in different ways but now both teams have a clear idea of what they must do to get better."
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
Excalibur ramp up for OUA Championships with performance at Brock Invite Bonspiel
The Men had a strong performance with a couple of bad ends, which ended up costing them the two losses. They were pleased with their play other than that, and were very competitive with the other teams despite the lopsided appearance of the losses. This was a great opportunity for teams to see the competition that they will face at the OUA championships at Guelph in two weeks time! They are hopeful to make a run at playoffs this year at the OUA's.