Suzanne Birt rink goes undefeated to win PEI Scotties
(Jan. 27) The Suzanne Birt rink, which includes third Shelly Bradley, second Sarah Fullerton, lead Leslie MacDougall, and coach Peter Gallant won all five of their games in this year's PEI Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial women's curling championship at the Charlottetown Curling Complex, including the final, in which they beat the defending champion Kim Dolan rink by a 6-3 score to advance to the national Scotties in Kingston Ont., Feb. 16-24. It's the seventh PEI women's title for Birt, a former World Junior champion. Other members of the runner-up rink skipped by Dolan, a nine time PEI women's champ, are Rebecca Jean MacDonald, Sinead Dolan, and Michala Robison, with coach John Likely.
In tonight's game, deuces in ends two, six, and eight gave the advantage to Birt. Dolan was never able to score more than one point in an end. Five teams took part in this year's PEI women's championship.
Photo (l-r) Peter Gallant (coach), Leslie MacDougall, Sarah Fullerton, Shelly Bradley, Suzanne Birt
Runner-up photo (l-r) Michala Robison, Sinead Dolan, Rebecca Jean MacDonald, Kim Dolan
Defending champion Kim Dolan vs Suzanne Birt for PEI Scotties title
(Jan. 27) It will be defending and 9-time champion Kim Dolan facing undefeated and six time champion Suzanne Birt in the final of the 2013 PEI Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial women's curling championship. Birt finished the round robin with a spotless 4-0 win-loss record, and advanced directly to the final, at 7 pm tonight. Dolan took a longer route to the championship game, finishing round robin play with a 2-2 record, the same as Kathy O'Rourke and Lisa Jackson. O'Rourke was awarded second place as a result of team draw to the button skills ranking results, with Dolan beating Jackson 6-4 in a tiebreaker on Saturday to advance to this afternoon's semi-final against O'Rourke, which Dolan won 7-3 to advance to tonight's final.
In this afternoon's contest, .Dolan had opening end last rock advantage, and blanked the end to carry the hammer into the second end, where she scored a deuce. O'Rourke tied it with a pair in three, and the teams exchanged singles to tie the game three-all at the half. Dolan blanked the sixth, scored a single in seven, and then stole a deuce in eight and a single in nine to give her a four point advantage coming home.
Other members of the Birt rink are third Shelly Bradley, second Sarah Fullerton, and lead Leslie MacDougall, with coach Peter Gallant. Third Rebecca Jean MacDonald, second stone Sinead Dolan, and lead Michala Robison, with coach John Likely, round out the Dolan squad.
Tonight's winning team will advance to the national Scotties in Kingston Ont., Feb. 16-24.
The Birt, Dolan, O'Rourke and Jackson teams are all from the host Charlottetown Curling Complex. The fifth team in the event, the Tammy Dewar rink from Montague, ended play on Friday with a 0-4 record.
