Forget, Burns named Investors Group OUA Athletes of the Week
BURLINGTON, Ont. - The following athletes have been named Investors Group Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Athletes of the Week for the period ending March 27, 2017.
BURLINGTON, Ont. - The following athletes have been named Investors Group Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Athletes of the Week for the period ending March 27, 2017.
MALE: Wesley Forget (Bowmanville, Ont.) – 5th yr – Queen's Gaels – Curling
Queen’s Gaels skip Wesley Forget (Bowmanville, Ont.) has been named the Investors Group OUA Male Athlete of the Week for the period ending March 27, 2017.
At the 2017 U SPORTS / Curling Canada Championships, Forget, a fifth-year English Language and Literature major, led the Gaels to a 3-4 round robin record in the highly competitive men’s division.
After dropping the first three draws of the championship, Forget and the Gaels bounced back with three straight wins, including an impressive victory over their rivals and OUA champions, the Laurier Golden Hawks. However, needing a win against Memorial to advance to the playoffs, the Gaels fell short to the eventual champions, losing 9-6 in nine ends to finish fifth in the country.
The Bowmanville, Ont. native shot 78 percent for the round robin -- the second-highest total amongst skips -- including shooting a tournament best 96 percent in Draw 5 against the previously mentioned Golden Hawks.
Despite not qualifying for the playoffs, Forget, who plays out of the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club, was named a first-team all-Canadian for his tournament play
FEMALE: Krysta Burns (Sudbury, Ont.) – 2nd yr. – Laurentian Voyageurs – Curling
After guiding her hometown team to the program’s first national championship, Laurentian Voyageurs skip Krysta Burns (Subury, Ont.) has been named the Investors Group OUA Female Athlete of the Week for the period ending March 27, 2017.
Following an up-and-down round robin, Burns, a second-year forensic science student-athlete and her Voyageurs teammates picked up a big 5-2 win vs. St. Francis Xavier to close out the opening round and advance to Wednesday’s semifinals.
In their semifinal against the Dalhousie Tigers, coming out of the break with a 3-1 lead, Burns was heavy on her draw for three and the Voyageurs were forced to settle for a pair. After Dalhousie closed the gap to 6-3 with two ends to play and the Tigers threatening, the Voyageurs stole two to advance to the gold medal match with an 8-3 final score.
Facing off against the northern OUA rival Thunderwolves in the final, Burns was tested early as with Lakehead sitting four, she was forced to throw an outstanding in-off to grab the single. Tied 2-2 coming out of the break, following a Lakehead miss, Burns took full advantage, drawing to the rings for three and a 5-2 Voyageurs lead. Once again, the Thunderwolves clawed their way back to get within 1 heading into the 9th end where Burns had another free draw to add two more and give Laurentian an eventual 7-4 victory.
Not only is this the first U SPORTS (formerly CIS) victory for the women’s curling program, but the first national title for Laurentian since the 1990-91 season, when the women's basketball team won the second of back-to-back titles.
