O what a win for Winnipeg rink
ROD KELLY, Calgary Sun
You could say it was a perfect combination of veteran experience and youthful exuberance that all came together at the perfect time for the winning rink at this weekend’s $54,000 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Classic at the Calgary Curling Club.
When the dust had settled, it was former world champion Cathy Overton-Clapham of Winnipeg and her rink of third Jenna Loder, second Ashley Howard and lead Breanne Meakin that took home the big prize as champions of the Asham World Curling Tour’s Grand Slam.
The [hometown Crystal] Webster rink lost a close 7-5 quarterfinal battle to Krista McCarville of Thunder Bay, Ont.
Earlier in the ’spiel, Webster said the road to playoff qualification at the Classic is always a challenging one.
“Obviously, playing yourself into a qualifier, that’s what you need to do here. We want to just keep playing better every game,” Webster said of her relatively newlook team, made up of third Erin Carmody, second Geri-Lynn Ramsay, both members of P.E.I.’s second-place team at the 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, and lead Sam Preston.
For Webster, the road to Monday’s final eight included key wins over Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones, Grande Prairie’s Renee Sonnenberg and Amber Holland of Kronau, Sask., Canada’s defending national champion earlier in the ’spiel.