Banner Season: Day 1 recap from the OUA Women’s Curling Championship
Sudbury, Ont. (C/O Laurentian Voyageurs) - It was a busy Day 1 of the OUA Women’s Curling Championship in Sudbury on Friday. All 16 teams hit the ice twice throughout the day and by the end of the day, the playoff picture was no clearer than when they started. With eight teams making Sunday’s quarterfinals, three teams were at 2-0 while 10 of the 16 teams stood at 1-1.
In draw 1, a trio of teams got off to fast starts and earned their victory after six ends. McMaster was patient in their game against Waterloo, blanking the first end before converting hammer in the second for a pair. After Waterloo replied with a pair of their own in the third, the Marauders reeled off three straight deuces for an 8-2 win. Brock opened up their championship with a steal of four in the first end and cruised from there to a 10-4 win over Carleton. After conceding a single, Toronto replied with a 5-ender and cruised to a 12-3 win over York. In the lone game that went the distance, Trent opened up a 5-1 lead before watching TMU battle back and close the gap to one heading into the final end. The Excalibur righted the ship in the final end and locked in a 7-5 win.
In draw 2, it was a different story as all four games went the distance. The hometown Laurentian Voyageurs opened up a 5-1 lead over the Queen’s Gaels before the tri-colour made it close, ultimately running out of rocks in the final end for a 7-6 Laurentian win. Guelph and Laurier engaged in a tight battle, with the Golden Hawks scoring the only deuce of the game to take a 4-3 win. Ontario Tech earned their win over the Western Mustangs on the back of three stolen points, locking up a 6-4 victory. The Algoma Thunderbirds raced out to a 5-0 lead before the Windsor Lancers stormed back and took a 6-5 lead heading into the seventh. After settling for a single to tie the game, the Thunderbirds stole a pair in the final end for the 8-6 win.
Draw 3 was a repeat of the day’s first games as only a single game went the distance. TMU opened with three in the first and counted four in the seventh to down Toronto 10-3 while Waterloo stole three in the second and stole a 5-ender in the seventh to beat Brock 11-2. Trent used a steal of six in the third end to cruise to an 11-3 win over York. In the final game, Carleton jumped out to an 8-3 lead before McMaster scored four in the seventh end to get right back into the game. The Ravens bounced back and tallied a single to see out a 9-7 victory.
In the day’s final draw, Laurier and Guelph both hit double digits as they downed Windsor and Algoma 10-1 and 10-2, respectively. Laurentian took care of Ontario Tech 7-2 and Queen’s used the strength of five stolen points to open game and saw their way to a 7-4 victory.
Heading into the final day of round robin play, Laurentian, Laurier, and Trent all sit atop their pools at 2-0 while Pool B has three teams knotted at 1-1. Action resumes at 9am Saturday at the Idylwylde Golf and Country Club as the quarterfinal field will be determined by day’s end.