REGINA — So far, so good for Chloe Johnston and her University of Regina Cougars foursome at the U Sport Curling Championships currently underway at the Callie Curling Club in Regina.
Johnston and her rink of third Tesa Silversides, second Hannah Rugg and lead Lauren Speidel, alternate Makena Bailey and coach Danielle Sicinski split their two round robin games on Thursday and now hold a 3-2 record to sit tied for third place in the eight-team tournament.
Both of their contests were close, as Regina handed Memorial University’s Cailey Locke her first loss with a 7-6 win in the afternoon draw before dropping a 6-5 decision to McMaster’s Evelyn Robert in the evening in a first-place showdown.
Against Memorial, the teams each picked up forces in the first two ends before Regina went on a roll, stealing one in the second, two more in the fourth and another in the fifth for a 5-1 lead at the break. Memorial stormed right back, though, putting up three in the sixth and a deuce in the seventh to take a 6-5 lead, but Johnston put the hammer to good use in the final end to get the deuce and a 7-6 win.
That meant the meeting against McMaster would decide which of the two teams was tied for first place after Thursday action, and fittingly, it was a back-and-forth battle.
After Robert scored one in the first, Johnston picked up a deuce in the second, only for McMaster to reply with two of their own and a steal in the fourth for a 4-2 lead. Regina got one back in the fifth, and after blanking the next end, McMaster would take control of things with two in the seventh. Johnston nearly completed the comeback in the final end but only picked up a pair to fall 6-5.
Other afternoon scores saw New Brunswick’s Jenna Campbell take an 8-1 win over Calgary’s Ava Koe, Alberta’s Gracelyn Richards down Guelph’s Katrina Frian 9-4 and McMaster put up a pair of four-enders to defeat Queen’s Ava Acres 12-4.
The evening draw saw Memorial score four in the eighth for a 9-5 win over Guelph, Calgary defeat Queen’s 9-5 and New Brunswick down Alberta 8-3.
Standings after Thursday action are as follows:
Memorial 4-1
McMaster 4-1
Regina 3-2
Alberta 3-2
New Brunswick 2-3
Guelph 2-3
Queen’s 1-4
Calgary 1-4
Regina returns to action Friday during the 9 a.m. draw against Alberta before facing New Brunswick at 4 p.m.
The top four teams advance to the semifinals at 9 a.m. on Saturday, with the championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Regina’s Carter Williamson and his Cougars crew of third Rhett Whittmire, second Andrew Moulding, lead Nathan Weiss, alternate Evan Arnold and coach Garret Springer had an up-and-down day on Thursday, splitting their two contests to now sit at 1-4 in the tournament.
Regina opened the day with a six-end 5-1 loss to Memorial’s Simon Perry before rebounding to take a 6-4 decision over Calgary’s Kenan Wipf in the evening draw.
Against Memorial, Williamson got off to a tough start by giving up three in the first end, and after blanking the next two frames would give up steals in the fourth and fifth to trail 5-0. Regina would get on the board with one in the sixth, but opted to shake hands there.
Things were far closer in their second game, as the teams exchanged deuces in the first and third ends and things were tied 2-2 after four. Williamson took control of the game with two in the fifth and then stole single points in the sixth and seventh ends to lead 6-2 coming home. Calgary would pick up a pair in the final end, but it wasn’t enough, and Regina had their first win on the board.
Other results from the first draw on Thursday saw Carleton’s Owen Nicholls score five in the second end and go on to an 8-0 win over York’s Ryan Mayville, Calgary score three in the final two ends to defeat Wilfrid Laurier’s Kimbo Mulima 7-5 and Alberta’s Zach Davies roll to an 8-4 win over Dalhousie’s Owen McPherson.
Other results from evening games saw Alberta down York 5-4, Carleton get past Dalhousie 6-4 and Memorial defeat Wilfrid Laurier 6-5 in an extra end.
Standings after Thursday are as follows:
Carleton 5-0
Memorial 4-1
Alberta 3-2
Calgary 3-2
Wilfrid Laurier 2-3
York 1-4
Dalhousie 1-4
Regina 1-4
Regina takes on York in the 9 a.m. draw Friday and Alberta in the 4 p.m. draw.
The top four teams advance to the semifinals at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by the gold medal game at 1 p.m.
You can catch all the scores and results at www.curling.ca.
