Lineup shuffle propels mixed curling rink to 4-1 weekend at ACAC Fall Regional

Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics

ST. PAUL, Alta. – Coming off an 8-6 loss to host Portage College on Friday night at the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference Fall Regional, something didn't seem to be clicking right for the MacEwan mixed curling team.

Head coach Tom Kitagawa and assistant Brian Lupul put their heads together and made a dramatic lineup shift overnight that turned their entire weekend around.

Lead Jordan Semen was bumped up to second and given game-calling duties, while previous skip Rebecca Bartz moved to third, Aidan Munro was given the task of throwing the final stones and Andrea Bury moved to lead.

From that point on at the St. Paul Curling Club, they not only didn't lose another game, the Griffins outscored their opponents 22-3 and finished with a 4-1 record, second-best in the conference.

"Once we clarified the roles of who was doing what –  I think some of the players weren't sure about their roles – and when we reformatted the team, it was almost like a natural fit for everyone," said Kitagawa. "You could see them having more fun, enjoying the game more."

Including a 9-5 win over NAIT in their first game, the mixed team also posted wins over Lakeland (7-0), Olds (7-0) and Red Deer (8-3).

Munro was sharp all weekend for the Griffins, but especially so in the blanking of Lakeland when he shot 89 per cent on his final rocks.

"Just an outstanding performance throwing last stone," said Kitagawa of the freshman out of Edmonton's Lillian Osborne high school who was competing in his first ACAC bonspiel. "It was a just a wonderful performance on his part."

The MacEwan women's team finished the weekend with a 4-2 record, good for third in the ACAC standings. They started slowly, opening with a 7-6 extra end win over Red Deer, before losing 9-1 to defending ACAC champion Concordia and 5-3 to NAIT.

But the rink, comprised of skip Ashton Simard, third Erin Wells, second Andie Kurjata and lead Sara Fraser, closed with three-straight wins – 7-1 over Lakeland, 9-0 over Olds and 7-3 over UAlberta-Augustana.

"It was hard to say up until this weekend what was going to happen, but what I saw is the team became a team," said Kitagawa. "Once you start to play multiple games in fairly short succession, you see the bonding. You see them becoming a team, trying and working harder together."

The Concordia loss was a bit of a blip on the radar for them.

"I'm not sure what happened. I couldn't put my finger on it," said Kitagawa. "Things just kind of went south.

"We had a shot in the first end and didn't make it, and gave up one. After that it seemed like everything we did didn't work and everything they did, did."

They can learn more from the NAIT defeat.

"I think we made a small strategy error and they made a perfect shot," said Kitagawa, who met with his team in a strategy session afterward.

"We sat down and talked about options. Curling is a little different in that it's kind of like a game of chess. If you do this, what's the opposition going to do? If you move this piece here, they do this, if I move that piece here, they do that. Which is the preferred choice? Sometimes, it's do we do this now or wait one more move?"

At the end of the day, both of MacEwan's curling rinks are set up well to qualify for the ACAC Championship. Their records will carry forward to the ACAC Winter Regional, Jan. 26-28 at Edmonton's Avonair Curling Club.

Following that event, the top four teams in each discipline – men's, women's and mixed – will qualify for the ACAC Championship in Camrose, Feb. 16-18. MacEwan does not have a men's team this season.

"Both teams are well poised to qualify for the provincial championship," said Kitagawa.

Should the women's team be successful there, they will qualify for the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association championship March 24-28 in Leduc. There is no mixed national championship.