The Adam Casey and Sarah Clow rinks from the University of Prince Edward Island lost their opening games at the CIS/CCA University Curling Championships in Montreal. Casey, playing with Anson Carmody, Nick van Ouwerkerk, and Jamie Danbrook lost 7-2 to Nova Scotia’s St. FX team, skipped by Dominic Daemon, with Islander Alex MacFadyen at second stone. MacFadyen is a former teammate of Casey, Carmody and van Ouwerkerk. St. FX grabbed an early lead, following an end one deuce with single steals in ends two and three. UPEI got on the board with a single in the fourth, but the Antigonish squad followed a fifth end single with a pair in the sixth to put the game out of reach.
The UPEI men are back on the ice against Manitoba, at 10 pm Atlantic time.
Meanwhile, UPEI’s Sarah Clow rink, which includes third Brielle Quilty, second Christina Hennessey, and lead Courtney Moore, lost their opener 9-3 to Concordia, skipped by Quebec Junior Champion Kristen Richard. Clow blanked the first two ends, but gave up a steal of two in the third, and a single in the fourth end. Clow got on the board with a deuce in the fifth, but a four-ender by the Concordia team in the sixth gave them a big 7-2 lead. The Quebec squad stole a single in the seventh, and the teams traded singles in ends eight and nine.
On Thursday the UPEI men have one game, against McGill at 2 pm Atlantic, while the women play Memorial at the same time, and Laurentian at 6 pm Atlantic.
The finals in this event, now in its second year, but the first for UPEI, go Sunday at 3 pm Atlantic, with the winners advancing to the 2010 Karuizawa International Curling Championships, which take place late February in Japan.