PEI’s Suzanne Birt rink, which includes third Shelly Bradley, second Leslie
MacDougall, and lead Stefanie Clark, with coach Charlie Sullivan, had to keep winning on Sunday, after losing both Saturday games in the triple-knockout $32,000 Southwestern Ontario Women’s Cashspiel, being played in London Ontario.
Unfortunately, they lost their first Sunday game, against Jacqueline Harrison of the Alliston Curling Club, and are eliminated from further play.
On Saturday, the Birt foursome lost 8-2 against Team Switzerland, skipped by Mirjam Ott, and 8-3 against the Lisa Farnell team from Peterborough. The Birt rink got off to a great start, winning their first two games on Friday, against Alison Goring of Toronto, and four time Canadian and two time world Seniors champ Anne Dunn of Cambridge Ont.
The quarter-final round goes tonight at 7:30, with the semis going Monday morning at 9, and the final game at 1 pm. All times are Eastern.
World Champions and last year’s event runner-up Team China, skipped by Bingyu
Wang, have already qualified for the quarter-finals, as have Team Switzerland.
Wang handed Rachel Homan of Ottawa, who has won the event the last two years,
her first loss in this year’s event Saturday afternoon, taking a second-end
triple, and scoring a deuce in the final end of a close 7-6 battle.
The Swiss Olympic team followed their win against Birt with a 5-4 edging of
Coldwater Ontario’s Sherry Middaugh foursome.
In the B flight, Homan doubled Erika Brown of Madison Wisconsin 6-3 on Sunday morning, while Cathy Auld of Toronto recorded a 6-2 upset over Sherry Middaugh.
Auld and Homan now advance to the 7:30 pm quarter-finals.
All proceeds from the charity cashspiel, now in its 13th year, go toward breast cancer research. To date, the cashspiel has raised $182,915 for the cause.