Two round robin draws are in the books as the PEI Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial women’s curling championship got underway today at the Charlottetown Curling Club. Two of the six teams entered, skipped by defending champion Suzanne Birt, and three time junior champ Sarah Fullerton, are 2-0 after opening day play.
PEICurling.com file photo (L-R): Suzanne Birt, Leslie MacDougall, Shelly Bradley, Robyn MacPhee at last year’s Canadian championships
The Birt rink, which curls out of the host club, and includes Shelly Bradley, Robyn MacPhee, and Leslie MacDougall, with coach Peter Gallant, got off to a flying start in their opening game against the Donna Butler team from Charlottetown and Cornwall, picking up five points in the first three ends, but Butler narrowed the gap with singles in the next three frames, and came within one point after stealing the ninth. Birt had hammer coming home, and didn’t have to throw her final stone.
Birt, and Montague’s Tammy Dewar were tied at 5 after six ends in the afternoon draw, but Birt took a pair in end seven and stole a deuce in the 8th to gain the advantage, winning 9-6.
PEICurling.com file photo (L-R) Hillary Thompson, Sarah Fullerton, Sara MacRae at the PEI Junior Championships
The Fullerton foursome stole a single in the 10th end to tie up their opener against eight-time PEI Scotties winner Kim Dolan, and then recorded a deuce in the extra end for an 8-6 win. Fullerton’s second game, against Butler, also went into an extra end. Butler had a 4-0 lead after five ends, but Fullerton fought back with three singles and a deuce in the next four ends to grab a 5-4 lead coming home without hammer. Butler was able to score only a single in the 10th, to tie the game, but gave Fullerton the last rock advantage coming home. Fullerton, whose rink includes Michelle McQuaid, Sara MacRae, and Hillary Thompson, with coach Angela Hodgson, picked up a single in the extra for the 6-5 win. The Fullerton rink are in their last year of Junior eligibility and will be playing in the Canadian Juniors, February 4-12 in Napanee Ontario.
In other games, Dolan went to 1-1 with a win in the second draw, 6-5 over four-time Junior champ and Charlottetown clubmate Meaghan Hughes. Hughes is also at 1-1, winning her opener by an impressive 11-3 score over Dewar, stealing deuces in the fourth and fifth ends, and recording a triple in the eighth. Butler and Dewar are 0-2 after opening day play.
Saturday draws are at 1:30 and 6:30 pm, with Birt taking on Dolan, Fullerton facing Hughes, and Butler meeting Dewar in the afternoon. Undefeated Birt and Fullerton will face off in the evening draw, with Hughes taking on Butler, and Dewar playing Dolan on the other sheets.
Round robin play wraps up with the 10 am draw on Sunday. Depending on tiebreakers, the semi-final between the second and third place teams goes either Sunday at 3 pm, or Monday at 1:30. The semi-final winner will play the first place team from the round robin in the championship game, at 6:30 Monday night.
The PEI Scotties champion will advance to the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts, February 18-26 in Red Deer Alberta.