McDonald, Tober take junior curling crowns

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This article was published 28/02/2022 (1486 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON – Jordon McDonald and Tansy Tober had very different routes on their way to winning the 2022 Manitoba junior men’s and women’s curling championships at the Brandon Curling Club this weekend.

McDonald and his squad from the Deer Lodge Curling Club – which includes third Reece Hamm, second Elias Huminicki and lead Alexandre Fontaine – went a perfect 7-0 and earned another opportunity to wear the Buffalo in Stratford, Ont. next month with a 6-3 win over Aaron Van Ryssel of Springfield.

They took part in the world junior qualifier event in Saskatoon earlier this fall and reached the quarterfinal round.

“It feels fantastic to have the opportunity to go back to nationals again,” McDonald said. “I’m over the moon.

“I got a little emotional after we had won. This is the biggest event for us at the junior age group. I’ve won the provincials at the Under-18 level, but this is even more surreal.”

After winning all five of his pool games, McDonald clinched a spot in the final with a 6-1 triumph over Jordan Johnson’s Heather squad in the 1 vs. 2 Page playoff game on Saturday.

“I think the key for us was getting the ice figured out right away and gaining confidence with how we were throwing the rock,” McDonald said. “The ice was a little tricky out there this week as the speed made it tough to figure out at times, but we figured that out with some great communication and we took advantage of that.

“I also think the opportunity we had to play at the Viterra Championship (in Selkirk) a couple of weeks ago helped us a ton. We’ve pretty much been playing against men’s teams since November, so that was a great way to get us prepared for the junior provincials.”

Meanwhile, Tober and her Fort Garry Curling Club rink took the longest route possible to earn the provincial title.

Following a tough 7-6 loss to Emily Ogg’s Assiniboine rink in their pool play finale Saturday morning at the Brandon Curling Club, Tober had a 3-2 record and found herself in a tiebreaker Emma Jensen of the Heather.

The squad – which includes third Caitlin Kostna, second Lexa Sigurdson and lead Stephanie Feeleus – beat Jensen 7-3, defeated Neepawa’s Zoey Terrick by a score of 6-2 in the 3 vs. 4 Page playoff game, upset Grace Beaudry of the St. Vital in a 6-4 semifinal affair and completed their run to the title with an 11-4 triumph over Morgan Maguet’s East St. Paul squad.

“It’s all pretty surreal,” Tober said. “I’ve honestly thought of this moment since I started curling and I’m just trying to take it all in.

“We knew that we had to keep on winning just to stay alive in the tournament and we did a great job of pumping each other up before each game. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more mentally strong as I did going into the semifinal and the final today.”

Tober dominated the final against the previously undefeated Maguet.

They got a three-ender to take a 3-1 lead in the second end, then followed that up by stealing four points over the next three frames to build up a 7-1 advantage at the break.

Maguet closed the gap to within four points, but Tober wrapped up the contest with another three-ender in the ninth.

“Even when we got that big lead, our main focus was to try and stay aggressive,” said Tober, who is a second year student in the industrial arts teacher education program at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College.

“It’s not over until it’s over. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day and I thought we did a great job of keeping our foot on the gas in the second half.”

Despite the setbacks in the provincial final, Van Ryssel and Mauget will both compete at the junior nationals, which run from March 25 to April 2, under the Manitoba 2 handle.

The province earned multiple berths in the men’s and women’s events as a result of Jacques Gauthier and Mackenzie Zacharias winning national titles in 2020.

“We’re really happy with the result and everything came together for us at the right time,” said Mauget, who is joined on her rink by third Kylie Lippens, second Laura Evason and lead Danica Metcalfe. “It wasn’t the final result we wanted, but we’re excited to qualify for nationals and I think we’re just as happy as Tanya’s team.”

“At the beginning of the season, I didn’t think this was even possible,” added Van Ryssel, who is joined on his squad by third Peter Albig, second Jonah Peterson and lead Colin Desaulniers. “I’m so proud of the entire team and how we banded together to have a heck of a week here.”

— The Brandon Sun