Morning Star Staff
One current and one former Vernon curler wrap up preliminary round play today at the 2016 Everest Canadian Seniors Championships in Digby, NS.
Sherry Heath of Vernon is the lead for the Diane Foster rink of Kelowna, which was sitting at 1-2 after their first three of six round-robin games.
Foster, Heath, second Cindy Curtain and third Leanne Ursel lost their opening match, 5-3, to Ontario’s Jo-Ann Rizzo of Brantford Monday before the B.C. champs rebounded to blank Robin Manoll of Nunavut 14-0 in five ends.
On Tuesday, Foster fell 7-2 to Cathy Cunningham of Newfoundland/Labrador, and played P.E.I.’s Kim Dolan in the evening draw.
Foster will wrap up the round-robin with two games today including an evening match against six-time Canadian women’s champion Colleen Jones of Nova Scotia, who is trying to become the only other woman beside Victoria’s Pat Sanders to guide her team to Scotties, World and Canadian Seniors championships. Jones lost last year’s final.
Also competing on the women’s side is Alberta’s Cathy King, the only curler to win a Scotties, Canadian Seniors, World Seniors and Canadian Junior championship.
The field also includes Scotties veterans Dolan, Cunningham, Sherry Anderson of Saskatchewan, Heidi Hanlon of New Brunswick and Debbie Moss of the Northwest Territories.
Foster won the 2007 Canadian Seniors and 2008 World Seniors while representing Alberta.
Former Vernon curler Dave Stephenson is throwing third rocks for B.C. champ Bob Ursel of Kelowna in the men’s draw.
The team, which includes the front end of second Don Freschi and lead Fred Thomson, was 3-1 entering play Wednesday.
Ursel beat Jeff Thomas of Newfoundland/Labrador 9-3 and lost 6-5 to Guy Charette of Quebec on opening day Monday.
Among the 14 teams in the men’s field is two-time Brier champ Ed Lukowich, reresenting Alberta.
The Kelowna quartet rebounded with a pair of wins Tuesday, 6-3 over Grant Odishaw of New Brunswick and 10-2 over Ed Sattelberger of Nunavut. The finals are set for Saturday.
Jim Cotter and his daughter Jaelyn open up play Thursday at the star-studded Canadian mixed doubles championships in Saskatoon.
Mixed doubles has Olympic status which has resulted in a talent-laden field in Saskatoon that includes the likes of well-known curers Rachel Homan and Mark Nichols, Mike and Dawn McEwen, Colin Hodgson and Chelsey Carey, who just finished fourth at the Ford Women’s World Curling championship in Swift Current.
The winning team will represent Canada at the 2016 World Championships April 16-23 in Sweden.
The format features 32 teams (each team consists of one male and one female curler) divided into four pools of eight. The four pool winners after the round-robin, plus the eight teams with the next best records, advance to a 12-team single elimination playoff.
The winning team will represent Canada at the 2016 World Championships April 16-23 in Sweden.
The Cotters play the teams of Sabrina Smith/Kyle Holland, Jessie Kaufman/Brock Virtue and Jennifer Baxer/Mark Dacey today.
They’ll face Jocelyn Peterman/Brett Gallant, Lora Browne/Nick Kaeser and Lisa Weagle/John Epping Friday before clsoing the preliminary round Saturday morning against Stephanie Lawton/Steven Laycock.