Sarah Daniels and Tyler Tardi will represent B.C. at the 2016 Canadian junior curling championships.
Daniels powered past Corryn Brown 11-3 to capture the women’s title while Tardi topped Matthew McCrady 8-3 in the men’s final at the Tim Hortons B.C. junior curling championships Sunday in Kamloops.
The 16-year-old Daniels and her New Westminster-based team of third Marika Van Osch, second Dezaray Hawes and lead Megan Daniels are now bound for nationals beginning Jan. 23 in Stratford, Ont.
Daniels, who fell to Brown in last year’s final, capitalized on a couple of the opposing team’s misses in the fourth end to get a five count and stole a point in the fifth to take a 6-1 lead.
Brown, the 2013 Canadian junior champion, had a chance for a deuce in six but had to settle for another single when her last rock chipped off her own shot stone. Daniels continued to control the game taking two in seven, held Brown to one point in eight and made the draw for three in nine to bring out handshakes.
The Kamloops-based team of Brown, third Erin Pincott, second Samantha Fisher and lead Sydney Fraser were on a roll entering the final posting a 7-0 record through the round robin and defeated Daniels 11-7 in the page 1 vs 2 playoff as they looked to defend their title on home ice.
Daniels, who finished the round robin with a 6-1 record, beat Sarah Loken 9-4 in the semifinal to set up the rematch.
Nova Scotia’s Mary Fay, New Brunswick’s Justine Comeau, P.E.I.’s Katie Fullerton, Yukon’s Alyssa Meger, Nunavut’s Sadie Pinksen and Zoey Walsh of the Northwest Territories have also qualified for the Canadian junior curling championships.
Meanwhile on the men’s side, Tardi opened with hammer and took two in the second end to get on the board first. McCrady had a shot for a deuce with his last in the third and it almost looked like it was going to flash but stopped just in time and stayed in the rings to count and tie it up.
After Tardi scored another deuce in five, McCrady blanked six and needed to hit and stick with his last shot in seven but his final rock chipped off a counter and bounced around the house as he gave up a steal of three to trail 7-2.
McCrady attempted a double takeout for a deuce in eight but didn’t quite get the right angle and couldn’t save the shooter to only count one. Tardi settled for a single in nine to reclaim the five-point advantage heading into the final frame and ran McCrady out of rocks to secure the trophy.
Tardi’s team from Langley — featuring third Daniel Wenzek, second Jordan Tardi and lead Nicholas Meister — completed an undefeated run through the tournament finishing the round robin with a 7-0 record and defeated defending champion Paul Henderson 8-5 in the page 1 vs 2 playoff.
McCrady’s team from New Westminster — with third Zac Curtis, second Liam Purgavie and lead Jacob Umbach — finished with a 4-3 record in the round robin, beat Thomas Love 10-6 in the page 3 vs 4 playoff and ousted Henderson 8-5 in the semifinal.
Alex Robichaud (New Brunswick), Matthew Manuel (Nova Scotia), Arthur Siksik (Nunavut), Matthew MacLean (P.E.I.), and Brayden Klassen (Yukon) have qualified for the men’s division at the Canadian junior curling championships.