Whitehorse’s Team Koltun grabbed two more wins on the World Curling Tour over the weekend as the rink turns its attention to a run at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
The Koltun crew beat two Alberta teams before getting eliminated in the triple-knockout format at the Boundary Ford Curling Classic in Lloydminster, Alta., on Sunday.
“It went pretty well, we were playing pretty strong,” said skip Sarah Koltun. “The first two games that we lost came down to the last rock. We were in good positions but the other skips made their shots. Sometimes you just can’t do anything about that.
“But we played well and we’re pretty proud of how we did and it’s a boost of confidence going into our upcoming playdowns.”
The Boundary Ford spiel marked Team Koltun’s fourth World Curling Tour event of the season. They were held to one win in their first two, but then won three straight to reach the quarterfinal of the Spruce Grove Cashspiel two weeks ago.
They won 7-6 over Team Nichol and 7-5 over Team Kaufman in Lloydminster. Their losses came against Saskatchewan’s Team Holland and Alberta’s Martineau and Rogers.
Team Koltun - including third Chelsea Duncan, second Patty Wallingham and lead Andrea Sinclair - is now gearing up for the Yukon Women’s Curling Championships in a little over a week.
The top two teams will then travel to Yellowknife to compete against N.W.T.‘s top two teams for a playdown, the winner of which will head to the Scotties - the Canadian women’s championships - in Montreal.
The weekend after the women’s championships, Koltun will also compete in the territory’s junior championships with a slightly different team that includes Sinclair as third, Wallingham remaining as second, and Jenna Duncan - Chelsea’s little sister - as lead.
If successful, it will be Koltun’s eighth consecutive trip to the junior nationals.
Last season Team Koltun placed fourth in the women’s division of the 2012 Canadian Junior Curling Championship in February.
The accomplishment helped the rink get named team of the year at the annual Sport Yukon Awards Night last week.
“We think it’s a pretty big deal because we are very proud of where we’re from and the place we represent,” said Koltun. “We always go out to all these tournaments and try to do our best and show people the Yukon can compete, so to be recognized for that is very exciting. We’re all very grateful.”
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com