Young rinks roar at Manitoba Scotties

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/01/2024 (905 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MORDEN — Experience isn’t everything.

The third and final championship round spot out of Pool B at the Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Morden was down to two teams: Zoey Terrick — a 19-year-old from McCreary who was making her women’s provincials debut — and respected veteran Lisa McLeod — a 36-year-old who’s competed in the event more than a dozen times.

Zoey won Friday afternoon’s meeting between the two 8-4 to advance to the tournament’s final six with a 3-2 record. McLeod’s mark of 2-3 wasn’t enough to cut it as Kate Cameron (5-0) and Jolene Campbell (4-1) claimed the top spots out of the group.

With Team Terrick’s success, they’ve had to drop out of this weekend’s Manitoba Junior Curling Tour Championship in Springfield.

It’s safe to say they’re OK with that.

“We came in here and we were just like ‘We’re one of the youngest teams, we don’t have much to lose,’” said Zoey shortly after the win.

“We didn’t come in here expecting to win it all, so we’re just kind of having fun and playing our best.”

It’s a family affair as Zoey’s younger sister Tessa, 18, plays second, while the eldest sister, Jaycee, 23, filled in at third on Friday for Cassidy Dundas who was unable to play due to school commitments. Jensen Letham rounds out the roster at lead.

Jaycee, Zoey, Tessa, and Letham captured bronze at the 2023 Canadian Under-21 Women’s Curling Championship last April in in Rouyn-Noranda, Que. With Jaycee aging out of junior, Dundas was brought on board and Zoey took over last rock duties. Jaycee’s women’s team didn’t qualify for provincials, so she was able to join as an alternate.

“I love having my family with me and being able to play with them,” said Zoey, who now lives in Winnipeg for school and curls out of the Heather.

“It feels really good to experience this with them.”

Their reward was a showdown against No. 1 seed Kaitlyn Lawes in Friday’s late draw.

“When I was younger, I would watch Kaitlyn Lawes on TV, she’s our favourite curler, and now we get to play against her,” said Zoey.

Zoey managed to hide her fandom when she met Lawes earlier in the week.

“I played it cool,” Zoey laughed.

The youngest team in the field — Carman’s Shaela Hayward — also went 3-2, but it wasn’t enough to cut it in Pool A. Behind Lawes (5-0), there was a three-way tie between Assiniboine’s Beth Peterson, East St. Paul’s Kristy Watling, and Hayward that was decided by cumulative last stone draw. Unfortunately for Hayward, it left her on the outside looking in despite finishing Friday strong with a 10-6 win over Assiniboine’s Emily Cherwinski.

The semifinals and final take place on Sunday inside the Access Event Centre.

“This was way more than what we were expecting. We came here, our goal was to win one or two games and just enjoy the experience,” said Hayward, 17. “We never thought we’d be in the running for a playoff spot, but I’m so proud of our team this week. We showed these women’s teams that we can keep up with them.”

Hayward, third Keira Krahn, second India Young, and lead Rylie Cox — who are all in Grade 12 at Carman Collegiate — will head to Ottawa next month (Feb. 5-10) to be Team Manitoba at under-18 nationals. They won the province’s U18 title earlier this month in Selkirk.

“It’s great for our confidence. I’m very excited for nationals and we definitely have a shot at going far,” said Hayward.

Her mom, Diane Hayward, has been coaching the up-and-comers since the start of their curling careers. Diane subbed in to play the 10th and final end at lead with her daughter. With Carman being just 30 minutes away from Morden, Team Hayward had a large cheering section of friends and family, and the late substitution was met with a big ovation.

“Ron Westcott, our co-coach, was giving me a hard time and saying, ‘You have to take the opportunity to play with your daughter in the Scotties,’” said Diane. “When we were up that much, I knew the shots should be pretty easy and that I couldn’t mess it up, so I said ‘OK, I’ll go in and take the opportunity.’ The girls wanted me to go in just so we could say we did that.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @TaylorAllen31