At the 30 team Sandra Schmirler Charity Curling Classic at the Caledonia Curling Club in Regina, PEI’s Kathy O’Rourke team lost their final round robin game on Sunday morning against Crystal Webster of Calgary by a 10-1 score in only four ends to finish out of the playoffs with a 2-3 win-loss record. The PEI team had hammer in the first end, and picked up a point, but Webster took a deuce in the second end, and stole four points in each of the next two ends to bring the game to an early conclusion.
The O’Rourke foursome lost their opener 8-2 to the Jill Thurston rink of Winnipeg, but stole three points in the seventh end to edge the Heather Burnett foursome of Saskatchewan 6-5 in their second game. The PEI team, which includes Erin Carmody throwing final rocks, Geri-Lynn Ramsay at third, O’Rourke throwing second but calling the game, and Tricia Affleck at lead stone, then faced the Erika Brown rink from Madison Wisconsin, losing 7-5 when Brown rallied with a triple in the final end. The Island rink then edged Saskatchewan’s Trish Paulsen team 6-5 in an extra end, stealing a single in the third and a deuce in the 4th to lead 4-2 after four ends. After trading singles in ends five through seven, the Paulsen rink forced the extra end with a steal in the eighth, but the PEI team used hammer in the extra to win the game.
The quarter-finals go Monday at 9:30 am Mountain Time, with the semis at 1:30, and the final at 4:30 pm. The event has a total purse of $47,000, with $12,000 going to the winning team, $8000 to the runner-up, $5000 for third and fourth place, and $3500 going to the remaining quarter-finalists. There is also a $3000 payout to the winners of the final round robin games. Defending champion is Amber Holland of Kronau Sask.
Holland has advanced to the quarter-final round, along with Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon, Chantelle Eberle of Regina, Heather Nedohin of Edmonton, Sherry Middaugh of Ontario, Jill Thurston of Winnipeg, Lisa Ayamie of Calgary, and the winner of a Sunday evening tiebreaker between Chelsea Carey of Morden Manitoba and Kerri Flett of Winnipeg.
