The 2 pm finals are set after semi-final action this morning at the provincial The Dominion Curling Club Championship at the Montague Curling Club. The Marie Ford team from Crapaud and the defending champion Donald Clarey foursome had previously earned byes to the women’s and men’s finals by finishing round robin play yesterday in first place, with the second and third place teams battling this morning to advance to the final. The Ford foursome will be playing Nola Murphy and her Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club team from Summerside, who eliminated the defending champion Lorianne Davies rink from Cornwall with an 8-1 win this morning, opening with a three point first end and a single steal in the second end to build an early lead. The men’s game was close in the first half, with Alan Inman and his Crapaud team taking a 3-2 lead over Western’s Daryl MacDonald rink into the fifth end. The Crapaud squad owned the scoreboard in the second half, stealing a single in the fifth, a deuce in the sixth and another single in seven to win 7-2 and advance to the final. Other members of the Clarey team are Larry Richards, David Rice, and Steven MacLeod. Playing with Inman are Stephen Thomson, Gordon Fall, and Tony Quigley. Julie Mutch, Vivian Holm, and Heather MacRae round out the Ford foursome, while Donna Arsenault, Paulette Richard, and Elspeth Carmody complete the Murphy team.
Round robin play wrapped up Saturday evening, with the Clarey rink from the host club finishing in first place in the men’s section with a perfect 5-0 win-loss record, and the Ford team from the Crapaud Community Curling Club winning the women’s section with a 4-1 win-loss record.
The Inman rink from Crapaud placed second in the men’s section with a 4-1 record, while Western’s MacDonald foursome was third at 3-2.
Davies and her team from Cornwall, and the Murphy rink from the Silver Fox both finished with 3-2 records. Murphy beat Davies 9-5 in their round robin encounter and was awarded second place.
Finishing out of the playoffs in the men’s section was Bob Fowler and his Cornwall rink at 2-3, Blair Jay and his Silver Fox team at 1-4, and the Pat Birtwistle team from Charlottetown, who did not manage to pick up a win in the event.
Gail Greene and her Montague rink and Rushell MacDonald and her Western team both ended play at 2-3 on the women’s side, with Cathy MacDougall of Charlottetown finishing at 1-4.
In Saturday women’s play MacDonald edged Murphy 7-6, and Ford got by Greene 7-5 in the morning draw, Davies beat MacDonald 8-5, and MacDougall picked up her only win in impressive style, scoring two four enders in an 11-4 routing of Greene in the afternoon. The evening draw saw Davies score a point in the extra end to win 7-6 over MacDougall, and Murphy hand Ford her first loss, by a 7-4 score.
On the men’s side, MacDonald edged Jay 5-4, and Fowler shaded Birtwistle 7-6 in an extra end Saturday morning, MacDonald scored a triple in the final end to get by Fowler 6-5, and Clarey downed Birtwistle 8-1 in the afternoon draw, while Inman got by Jay 7-6 in the evening.
The men’s and women’s winners from this afternoon’s finals advance to the national The Dominion, November 19-24 at the Scarboro Golf and Country Club in Scarborough Ont.
