McEwen continues his mastery

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This article was published 31/10/2011 (5334 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The wins keep rolling in for Mike McEwen and his Assiniboine Memorial rink.

McEwen continued his early season mastery on the cash-spiel tour with a 6-2 victory over Edmonton’s Randy Ferbey in the final of the Cactus Pheasant Classic in Brooks, Alta. Sunday. The win gives the Winnipeg skip three wins in his first four World Curling Tour events he’s entered this season.

McEwen gave up a steal in the first, but came back with two in the second before stealing three more in the next two ends to push his lead to 5-1. Ferbey found another single with the hammer in the fifth, but shook hands with McEwen after the Manitoban counted one in the sixth.

McEwen picked up a $22,000 cheque for the win, a deposit which brings his season earnings to a tidy $66,000 after four events. He leads the WCT money list over Ferbey ($34,000) through the first nine weeks of the schedule.

McEwen was the top money winner on the tour last season, earning $127,490 (edging out Edmonton’s Kevin Martin; $125,500).

Ferbey earned $14,000 for his second place finish.

It’s the second straight victory on the circuit for McEwen and his Assiniboine team, which includes third B.J. Neufeld, second Matt Wozniak and lead Denni Neufeld. The foursome claimed first place at the Canad Inns Prairie Classic in Portage la Prairie earlier this month.

McEwen’s rink pulled off an Alberta double of sorts Sunday. Before dispatching Ferbey, he got past Edmonton’s Kevin Koe 6-5 in the semifinal, needing the hammer to squeeze out a single in the eighth end to advance to the championship.

On the women’s tour, Jennifer Jones and her St. Vital rink qualified for the playoff round at the $35,000 Colonial Square Ladies Classic in Saskatoon.

Jones opened her day on the B-event qualifier side, after dropping a 7-5 decision to China’s Bingyu Wang Saturday night. The Winnipeg skip bounced back Sunday, though, with a 7-4 victory over Saskatoon’s Trish Paulsen in the morning draw and a 9-6 win over Calgary’s Crystal Webster in the late afternoon draw.

The playoff round gets underway this morning.

Winnipeg’s Janet Harvey lost 5-1 to Regina’s Michelle Englot in the C-side bracket Sunday morning.

Meanwhile in Thompson, Arborg’s Kyle Foster rink (Wes Jonasson, Shaun Magnusson, Darcy Jacobs) and the Rob Van Kommer rink (Bart Witherspoon, Cale Dunbar, Ian Scott) from Carberry both punched their tickets to Dauphin for the 2012 Safeway Provincial Championship in February.

Foster defeated Stonewall’s Jared Kolomaya 5-4, while Van Kommer took care of Carman’s Dean North by a 5-3 score at the Burntwood Curling Club Sunday afternoon.

Brandon’s Lois Fowler and Murray Woodward of Pembina both counted first-place finishes at the Lloyd Gunnlaugson Memorial Senior Bonspiel over the weekend.

Fowler’s rink, which includes Gwen Wooley, Lori Manning, and Joan Robertson, beat Stonewall’s Arlene Deprez 7-2 in the women’s final at the Thistle Curling Club. Fowler’s husband, Brian, lost the men’s title 6-2 to the Woodward rink (Dave Johnson, Gary Shibata and David Bay).

At the Carberry MCT Women’s Bonspiel, Terry Ursel (Plumas) defeated Brandon’s Kelsey Russill 10-3 to claim the $1,000 prize Sunday.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca