At 22, Edmonton’s Kelsey Rocque is juggling university studies, a World Curling Tour schedule and family and friends.
The two-time world junior champion skip is doing a wonderful job maintaining elite curling status while pursuing a degree in recreation and sports therapy at the University of Alberta.
Rocque, who struck silver for the U of A Pandas at the 2013 CIS Curling Championships in Kamloops, was among the early leaders in the $42,000 Vernon Presitige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic Friday afternoon.
Supported by third Laura Crocker and a front end of Taylor MacDonald and Jen Gates, Rocque made semifinal cash at the HDF Shootout in Edmonton after sputtering in the Colonial Square Classic to open the season.
Rocque brushed back former Olympian and three-time Vernon Classic champion Cheryl Bernard of Calgary 11-3 in six ends in Draw 1 Thursday night, counting five in the sixth.
Rocque followed with a 4-3 win over Min Ji Kim of Korea Friday morning before stopping Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa i7-3 n Draw 5 Friday afternoon.
“We’re playing well,” said Rocque, moments before her third game. “We will be going in some Grand Slam events and the Canada Cup and we’ll try to keep getting better and go as far as we can.”