X-Women and Sea-Hawks claim 2017 AUS curling titles
(TRURO, N.S.) – The StFX X-Women and Memorial Sea-Hawks men are the 2017 AUS curling champions following the four-day Subway AUS championship hosted at the Truro Curling Club in Truro, N.S.
The X-Women, skipped by Emma Logan and coached by Carolyn Rose, also featured Lauren MacFadyen, Ashley Francis, Therese McCurdy and Sarah Snair.
The X-Women won the AUS banner thanks to a 9-3 victory over the Dalhousie Tigers in eight ends in the gold medal game. The final was tied at 3-3 heading into the fifth end break, but the X-Women scored two in the sixth and added steals of three in the seventh end and one in the eighth end before shaking hands.
Dalhousie, the defending women's champions, were led by skip Kristin Clarke and coached by Brian Rafuse. Other team members included Raquel Bachman, Lauren Chase and Mandi Newhook.
The UNB Varity Reds, skipped by Justine Comeau, went on to defeat Krista Nix and her Mount Allison team by a score of 8-3 in the bronze medal game to claim the third and final AUS berth at next month's U Sports championship.
With the championship victory, the team makes history at the university with the first ever AUS curling championship title. Atlantic University Sport began awarding championship banners two years ago with Dalhousie (2015-16) and Saint Mary's (2014-15) winning the previous women's titles.
On the men's side, the Memorial team wrapped up an undefeated weekend with a 10-5 win in the final over the Dalhousie Tigers.
The Sea-Hawks, skipped by Adam Boland and coached by Gary Ryan, scored five in the the third end of the championship game and held off a number of charges by Robert Mayhew and his Tigers rink the rest of the way.
Boland's Memorial teammates include Stephen Trickett, Zach Young and Evan Kearley.
The win also represents the first AUS men's curling banner for the Sea-Hawks. UNB claimed the inaugural title in 2015 and Dalhousie took home the AUS banner in 2016.
The UPEI Panthers, skipped by Christopher Gallant, claimed the third and final AUS berth at the U Sports championship with a dramatic 8-6 come-from-behind win in an extra end.
The Panthers, down by a score of 6-3 heading into the tenth end, scored three to tie it up in the tenth and then stole two points in the extra end that came down to the final shot.
FINAL ROUND ROBIN STANDINGS:
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Women's Final Standings: |
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Round Robin |
Games |
Wins |
Losses |
|
StFX (Logan) |
6 |
5 |
1 |
|
Dalhousie (Clarke) |
6 |
4 |
2 |
|
Mount Allison (Nix) |
6 |
4 |
2 |
|
UNB (Comeau) |
6 |
3 |
3 |
|
UPEI (Smith) |
6 |
3 |
3 |
|
Saint Mary's (Manuel) |
6 |
2 |
4 |
|
Memorial (Roberts) |
6 |
0 |
6 |
|
|
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Men's Final Standings: |
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|
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|
Round Robin |
Games |
Wins |
Losses |
|
Memorial (Boland) |
6 |
6 |
0 |
|
Dalhousie (Mayhew) |
6 |
5 |
1 |
|
UPEI (Gallant) |
6 |
3 |
3 |
|
UNB (Robichaud) |
6 |
3 |
3 |
|
Saint Mary's (Cocks) |
6 |
3 |
3 |
|
StFX (Henderson) |
6 |
1 |
5 |
|
Acadia (Byers) |
6 |
0 |
6 |
Source: AUS
The U Sports / CCA national championship will be held in Thunder Bay, Ont. and hosted by Lakehead University from March 19-22.
For more information on the 2017 U Sports Curling Championship, visit the event website at: http://en.usports.ca/championships/curling/index.