Brett Gallant and Meaghan Hughes take 2004 PEI Pepsi Junior Championships

 

Sunday January 11th:
Thirteen-year old Brett Gallant, last year's 15 and Under champion and 17 and Under runner-up, scored a deuce after a measure in the 10th end to edge 2002 Junior Champion Mark Waugh 7-6, who curls out of the Crapaud Community Curling Club,  to take the PEI Pepsi Bottling Group Provincial Junior (20 and Under) Men's title Sunday evening at the Montague Curling Club. Other members of the Gallant rink, from the Charlottetown Curling Club,  are Mitchell O'Shea, Matt Smith, and Patrick Callbeck. Kathie Gallant (Brett's mother) coaches the team.

Waugh and Gallant both finished round-robin play with 4-1 records, with Waugh taking first place by virtue of his 6-3 win over Gallant in their round-robin game. Third place Tyler MacKenzie of Cornwall (3-2) lost 10-6 to Gallant in the second place vs third place semi-final game Sunday afternoon.

Also on Sunday evening, the Cornwall rink of Meaghan Hughes, Sinead Dolan, Michala Robison and Erika Nabuurs, with coach Brenda MacMillan, defeated the Kendra Cameron rink, also from Cornwall, 6-4 to repeat as the PEI Pepsi Junior (20 and Under) Women's Curling Champions.  The Hughes rink went through round-robin play with a perfect 4-0 record.

Cameron, who finished the round-robin in second place with a 3-1 record, defeated third place (2-2) clubmate Vanessa Aylward 7-5 in the semi-final to advance to the championship game against Hughes. Had Hughes not won Sunday night's game, a sudden-death final would have been needed, as the rules of play dictate that a team undefeated in round robin play has to be beaten twice.

The Hughes and Gallant rinks will advance to the 2004 Kärcher Junior Canadian Curling Championships, February 7-15 in Victoria BC.

Saturday January 10th:

In the Pepsi Bottling Group Provincial Junior Curling Championships in Montague, two Junior Men's rinks finished with 4-1 records, after Mark Waugh of the Crapaud Community Curling Club lost a 6-5 extra end decision to Cornwall's Tyler MacKenzie on Saturday afternoon. Charlottetown's Brett Gallant rink also had just one loss, 6-3 to Waugh, on Thursday night.

Gallant and MacKenzie are playing in the second vs third semi-final Sunday at 1 PM, with the winner facing Waugh in the sudden-death final at 6 PM Sunday.

Meaghan Hughes of the Cornwall Curling Club went undefeated in round-robin play. Under the rules of play, her rink would have to be beaten twice in the playoffs for the other team to take the title. Kendra Cameron and Vanessa Aylward, also from the Cornwall club, will be in the second vs third semi-final Sunday at 1 PM. Cameron lost 9-8 to Hughes on Friday evening to finish with a 3-1 record, while Aylward finished at 2-2, losing 9-3 to Hughes on Friday morning, and dropping an 11-3 decision to Cameron on Saturday evening (the teams for the semi-finals were already determined before this game).

The winner of the Cameron/Aylward semi takes on Hughes in the final, 6 PM Sunday evening. If Hughes wins the game, she will take the championship. If Campbell or Aylward win, a sudden death final will be played Monday at 6 PM.