SURREY, B.C. — Saskatchewan’s Nancy Martin and Rylan Kleiter are into the playoff round at the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.
The Martensville duo picked up a victory in their final round robin game on Wednesday afternoon in Surrey, B.C. and as a result finished with a 4-2 record and tied for second place in Pool C. That was good enough for ninth place overall across all four pools and a spot in the first round of the playoffs on Thursday.
To get to that point, Martin and Kleiter needed a win over Sarnia, Ont.’s McKenna and Tanner Nathan in their final round robin game, and they didn’t leave much to chance. They used the hammer to pick up a single point in the first end but promptly took control of things with steals of two the next two frames for a 5-0 lead. The Nathans got a pair back in the fourth, and the teams would exchange deuces the next two ends for a 7-4 Saskatchewan lead through six. Martin and Kleiter then added another single in the seventh, and the teams shook hands.
The win was the third straight for Saskatchewan after winning only one of their first three games.
Martin and Kleiter will now face Niagara Falls, Ont.’s Serena Gray-Withers and Victor Pietrangelo in the first round of the playoffs at 1 p.m. on Thursday, with the Ontario duo having finished with an identical 4-2 record in Pool C. Martin and Kleiter losf their round robin meeting, giving up one in an extra end for a 7-6 defeat back in Draw 8 on Monday.
The winner of the playoff match will move on to face Ottawa’s Jacob Horgan and Kira Brunton in the quarter-finals after they posted a 6-0 record to finish atop Pool D. That contest takes place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, followed by the semifinals at 9:30 a.m. and championship game at 1 p.m. on Friday.
Be sure to keep up with all the scores from the playoff round at www.curling.ca.
