SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. - A couple of Humber Hawks teams jumped out to 2-0 starts on the opening day of the 2022 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association Curling Championships.
The Humber men's team defeated the host Sault Cougars 8-4 in the morning draw followed by the Confederation Thunderhawks 11-3 in the afternoon. Humber is comprised of skip Zack Shurtleff (Burlington, Ont.), vice Austin Snyder (Brantford, Ont.), second Matthew Garner (Toronto, Ont.) and lead Jacob Dobson (Haliburton, Ont.), with Brendan Jackson (Pincourt, Ont.) as alternate.
The Humber women's team held off the Niagara Knights 7-5 in the opening game before downing host Sault 9-1 in the afternoon. Humber is made up of skip Meaghan Mallett (Waterloo, Ont.), vice Daniela Aucoin (Brampton, Ont.), second Jessica Byers (Haliburton, Ont.), lead Emma Rebel (Ottawa, Ont.) and alternate Mikayla Ottogalli (Brampton, Ont.).
In mixed doubles curling, the Mohawk Mountaineers duo of Ashley Verlees (Elmwood, Ont.) and Eric Just (Hamilton, Ont.) defeated Humber-2 by an 8-6 margin in its only game of the day. Hunter Kuhlmann (Fergus, Ont.) is the Mohawk alternate. Humber-2 doubled the Humber-1 team in the morning draw 10-5.
The first of three draws on Day 2 is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday at the Community First Curling Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. The event runs through Monday.
The event features student-athletes from Confederation College (Thunder Bay); Fanshawe College (London); Humber College (Etobicoke); Mohawk College (Hamilton); Niagara College (Welland); and host Sault. The championship consists of mixed doubles, men's and women's team competitions.
All participating schools have a men's team competing in a single round robin competition, while Fanshawe, Humber, Niagara and Sault are competing in a double round robin women's competition. For this year's event, teams may include three or four curlers.
Mixed doubles, which debuted at the 2020 championships, feature two teams from Humber and one from Mohawk. The three teams are competing in a double round robin.
A total of eight draws will take place over four days of competition, including playoffs. The top four men's teams will advance to the semi-finals, while the top teams in the women's and mixed doubles competition advance directly to the championship. Women's and mixed doubles semi-finals will be contested between the second and third-place teams.
Gold medal games and the men's bronze medal game will take place on the final morning of competition on Feb. 21. There will be no Canadian Colleges Athletic Association championship this season.
It marks the ninth occasion that the OCAA Curling Championships will take place in the Soo, the last time being in 2018. Spectators will be permitted following the rules of the Community First Curling Centre and public health regulations.
Championship Website (including schedule): www.ocaa.com/curl
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