Griffins curling teams hit ice at ACAC Championship searching for consistency, banners
MacEwan Athletics
CAMROSE – If banners are the goal this weekend for the MacEwan Griffins curling teams at the ACAC Championship, then consistency is the modus operandi.
If MacEwan's women's and mixed rinks hope to find success at the Rose City Curling Club, they need to find their top level early and never take the foot off the gas.
"The ladies have a lot of talent, it just seems like it comes in spurts," said Griffins curling coach Tom Kitagawa. "We just have to be more consistent from start to finish.
"It seems like … sometimes the game starts really well and sometimes not so well. That's kind of the big thing – starting right from the gate playing at a level we're capable of."
The Griffins women's rink of skip Ashton Simard, third Erin Wells, second Andie Kurjata and lead Sara Fraser kicked off their draw at noon Friday against ACAC defending champion Concordia. If there is a good time to play against the powerhouse Thunder, Game 1 is it.
"It helps in my estimation because both teams are from out of town," said Kitagawa. "They're playing on a different ice surface. There's a certain level of comfort there (with your home ice).
"Both teams are going in without that comfort level, so in my estimation, it makes it a little better (to face them first)."
The MacEwan women's road will continue with round robin matches against NAIT (4 p.m., Friday) and Red Deer College (9 a.m., Saturday) before the playoff rounds begin. At 1 p.m. on Saturday, seeds 1 and 2 after the round robin will meet for the right to advance to Sunday's 10 a.m. final, while seeds 3 and 4 aim for a berth in Saturday's 6 p.m. semifinal.
A loss there isn't the end, though, as the bronze medal must be won. So the 3-4 loser will meet the semifinal loser on Sunday at 10 a.m. with third place on the line.
The MacEwan mixed rink of Jordan Semen, Rebecca Bartz, Aidan Munro and Andrea Bury is looking a little different for their opening draw on Friday at noon as both Bartz and Munro (Nursing) are in clinicals and won't join the team until Draw 2. So, alternates Quintin Bishop and Hilarie Charlie are playing in the team's opening match against Portage. Bartz and Munro will be back for the 4 p.m. draw against RDC.
The squad will close out the round robin on Saturday at 9 a.m. against NAIT with the same aforementioned playoff format and draw times ahead for the remainder of the weekend.
Much like the women's rink, consistency is the word of the weekend.
"It's a question of being consistent, playing to their ability," said Kitagawa. "They finished second (after both regionals). It's the same thing – as long as they start the game (strong they'll have success). You just don't want to fall behind early and have to come back.
"They are quite good. They have the talent, it's just bringing the talent to the table at the right time."
Results can be found here.
