Fall Curling Regional - Day 3
Red Deer, November 25, 2018 – On Sunday afternoon the last rocks were thrown at the Pidherney Curling Centre as competition concluded at the 2018 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Curling Fall Regional.
In the men's division, the NAIT Ooks showed that they will be serious contenders this season, securing a perfect 6-0 record. At 9:00 a.m., the Ooks blanked the MacEwan University Griffins 9-0 and then dropped the Olds College Broncos 10-4 immediately following.
The MacEwan University Griffins sat at the top of the women's standings with a 5-1 record. In the morning, they defeated the NAIT Ooks 5-3 and then picked up a 9-1 win over the University of Alberta Augustana Vikings in the afternoon.
Among the mixed curling teams, the Lakeland College Rustlers and U of A Augustana Vikings tied for top spot, both achieving an impressive 4-1 record over the three-day event. On Sunday, the Rustlers dropped an 8-1 decision to the NAIT Ooks. In the 12:30 p.m. draw, the U of A Augustana Vikings solidified a 9-3 victory over NAIT.
NAIT Curling had a strong Fall Regional. The NAIT men were the only team that went undefeated (6-0). The NAIT women had a solid 4-2 record and the mixed team completed a winning weekend. Karl Myziuk, NAIT Ooks Curling Assistant Coach, was impressed with the level of play from his teams, and all ACAC curlers.
"The weekend went really well. Coming in we didn't know what the competition would be like but it was pretty good. The men struggled in a couple games but they managed to hang in a couple of nailbiters and came through well," says Myziuk. "The ladies managed to hang in as well. The mixed team ended up 3-2 which is pretty good. We didn't know how strong they would be with some brand new players but I think they did very well. We will see what the next one will bring for us."
The Winter Regional is two months away and the NAIT coaching staff and student-athletes will make some adjustments in an attempt to elevate their games even further.
"We will work on some things that we see from this weekend and try to do a few corrections over the next three and a half weeks," says Myziuk. "After Christmas break we will get at it again for a couple of weeks before the Winter Regional. There's always something to work on and everyone is more than willing to make corrections, and we keep on going."
The focus will now shift to the ACAC Curling Winter Regional from January 25-27. MacEwan University will host the three-day event at Avonair Curling Club.