Two Salmon Arm curling teams headed out to Saint John, N.B. this week for the Canada 55 Plus Games, returning home with a gold and silver medal from the national competition.
The women’s 55+ team of Sandra Jenkins (skip), Kate Horne (third), Wendy Cseke (second), and Geri Kiy (lead) dominated their division and topped the podium with an undefeated gold medal finish.
After finishing first in their pool in the round robin, the Salmon Arm group faced off against the Nova Scotia team in the semi-final game. This turned out to be a tough match, going into a tense extra end that was clinched by a draw shot from skip Sandra Jenkins. After their last shot failed to break through the tough defense, the Nova Scotia crew was off to the bronze game and the Salmon Arm team headed to the finals against hometown favourites Team New Brunswick.
In the final match against New Brunswick, Salmon Arm seemed to have no trouble building a lead. At one point in the final match they were up 8-1 against the home team and locked in a win to secure the gold medal.
Related: Shuswap curlers set sights on top spot in Canada 55 Plus Games
The second team of Salmon Arm curlers that hit the ice in New Brunswick were the mixed 65+ team of Jan and Wayne Merwin and Larry and Jane Stephenson who also made a podium-worthy finish, earning silver at the national games.
After losing a tight game against Team Alberta at the close of the round robin, the Salmon Arm team was holding second place overall going into the semi-final match against Team Saskatchewan. They made quick work against Saskatchewan to move into the finals against Team Alberta with hopes of a victory in their rematch.
Despite playing their hearts out in the finals the mixed team from Salmon Arm couldn’t secure the victory, making it a second place finish and a silver medal for Team B.C.
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