Manitobans have Lotts to celebrate

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This article was published 20/03/2024 (593 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mixed doubles curling is like riding a bike to Kadriana and Colton Lott.

The Manitoba couple put the work in to figure the game out and, while they’ve rarely shared the ice the last two years, there’s strong evidence suggesting these two never seem to forget how it’s done.

Indeed, the married couple from Winnipeg Beach form one of the best duos in the country.

On Wednesday in Fredericton, the Lotts finished the Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship round robin with a perfect 7-0 record in their pool, earning a bye into Thursday’s quarterfinals. They closed out with a convincing 8-3 afternoon victory over the Saint John, N.B., team of Jennifer Armstrong and Tyrel Griffith.

Prior to playing this week, their lone event of the mixed doubles season was the Manitoba playdowns in Beausejour in late February. Kadriana and Colton earned the right to represent the buffalo by defeating Darcy Robertson and James Kirkness 7-0 in the final.

“She’s playing ladies, and my men’s schedule is pretty tight, so when I’m home, I want to be with Kadriana and see family. We basically had a couple of practices before provincials and headed straight into them,” explained Colton.

He plays the men’s four-player game with Matt Dunstone, while Kadriana tossed lead stones for Rachel Kaatz this season.

“We know how good of a team we are, and it’s just about getting back into that groove. Provincials really tuned us up for this week.”

It’s no surprise to see the Lotts on top of their group.

In 2018, despite being the youngest team in the field, they made it to the finals at nationals but fell to Laura Walker and Kirk Muyres.

Three years later in the Calgary bubble, they proved it was no fluke with another finals appearance, this time against two of the biggest names in the sport: Kerri Einarson and Brad Gushue. The Lotts had to settle for silver once again after a 9-6 loss.

“For both of us, we haven’t been in such a big situation in our lives, and I think taking the experience from that and knowing what to expect moving forward was huge,” said Colton, 28. “We keep that with us every day here, and we know what it takes to get to that point.”

Their experience is on full display now as they’ve outscored their Pool D opponents 65-17.

“We build off each event and tell each other we’ve got to stay positive. If something happens on the ice, we just shake it off and move on to the next stone. It can be tough, but you keep remembering you’re a team.”–Kadriana

“It’s nice to come out strong in the round-robin; it gives you momentum if you can make it to the weekend. We’ve been playing really well… and we’re making those huge key shots against every team,” said Kadriana, 24. “We know where we stand among all these other teams, so we feel a bit more confident.”

They play well above their No. 23 national ranking, beating the No. 5-ranked Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant 8-5 early Wednesday to clinch first place in the pool.

“Every year, they seem to put themselves in a position to win it, and it looks like they’re doing it again this year,” said Scott Pfeifer, Curling Canada’s mixed doubles national team program manager and its high-performance coach. “They’re a great team, they work really well together, and they’re one of the best teams at placing their shots in the right spot to really reduce the other teams’ chances of scoring big ends. So, both their games are very suited toward the mixed doubles discipline.”

Indeed, the couple — married in 2022 — seems to bring out the best in each other when competing on the big stage. The key, they say, is ensuring what happens on the ice stays on the ice.

“You feel like you can say anything to your partner because they’re your partner in life, but we’ve definitely had a few challenges with that, for sure,” said Kadriana. “We build off each event and tell each other we’ve got to stay positive. If something happens on the ice, we just shake it off and move on to the next stone. It can be tough, but you keep remembering you’re a team.”

Earlier this month, it was announced that Kadriana had left Team Kaatz. They went 0-5 at Manitoba provincials in Morden. She isn’t sure what the future holds, whether she’ll join a different team or choose to focus on mixed doubles.

As for Colton, he’s fresh off a disappointing result at the Brier. After losing to Brad Gushue in the 2023 men’s national title game, Team Dunstone bowed out in the Page 3 vs. 4 playoff against Winnipegger and import skip Mike McEwen of Saskatchewan earlier this month in Regina.

Gushue went on to beat McEwen and capture a third consecutive national title,

“It hurts for sure. You put so much time and dedication into what we do, and not getting that final result we were hoping for bites,” said Colton. “It really hurts. We all see each other and how much work we put into it. But, to look on the positive side, there’s lots to take from that week.”

Winning the mixed doubles crown with his significant other would certainly help ease that wound. Playoffs begin Thursday, with the gold-medal match set for Friday.

The winner in Fredericton will head to the World Mixed Doubles Championship 2024 in late April in Östersund, Sweden.

The gold, silver and bronze medallists in Fredericton will be the first three declared teams for the 16-team Olympic trials, slated for Dec. 30, 2024 to Jan. 4, 2025, in Liverpool, N.S.

The Lotts have been to Sweden before, representing Canada in the third leg of the 2018-19 Curling World Cup where they beat Norway’s Kristin Skaslien and Thomas Ulsrud in the final.

“It would mean everything. I know we haven’t been playing much mixed doubles, but we both still work really hard at the game,” said Colton. “To do it with my wife, it’d be unbelievable. When we won one of the legs of the World Cup, it was the best feeling ever and I’d love to relive that feeling.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @TaylorAllen31