FANSHAWE, NIAGARA CHAMPIONS IN OCAA CURLING

ST. THOMAS, Ont. - After five days of competition, the 2013 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) curling champions have been crowned. Fittingly, the host Fanshawe Falcons took two of the three titles available, winning the men's and mixed titles.

Only Niagara stood in the way of a Fanshawe sweep, as the Knights won the women's title for the first time in school history.

It wasn't an easy path to the men's championship for Fanshawe, finishing in a four-way tie in the round robin with a record of 5-3. Led by second-team all-stars D.J. Ronaldson (Nipigon) and Cody Heyens (Stratton), the Falcons edged St. Clair 5-4 in a first tiebreaker played in the late hours of Saturday, then defeated Fleming 7-5 in a second tiebreaker Sunday morning just to earn a berth into the semifinal.

Getting used to the experience of sudden death curling, Fanshawe squeaked by defending OCAA champion Sault 6-5 in the semifinal before defeating Confederation 7-3 in the gold medal match. Sault and Confederation finished tied for first in the round robin with 6-2 records. Fanshawe has won the men's title in two of the last three seasons.

It was an easier path to the gold medal match for Fanshawe's mixed curlers, going undefeated with a 6-0 record in the round robin. This was almost for naught, however, as Sault put up a fight in the final. Sault scored two in the eighth to tie the score at 5-5, but Fanshawe prevailed 6-5 in extra ends for its first mixed title since 1987. Sault defeated Humber 8-5 in the mixed semifinal.

Fanshawe could have made it a clean sweep if it wasn't for the Niagara women's team. The Falcons went undefeated in the round robin, and were up 5-3 with one end remaining before the Knights struck for two in the eighth and another in overtime to steal a 6-5 victory. Fanshawe settled for a bronze medal, defeating Mohawk 8-2.

Niagara almost let one slip away in the gold medal match, as Confederation forced extras with two in the eighth end. But the Knights scored four to win 9-5, earning Niagara's first provincial curling championship since its mixed team won gold in 1997. It marks Niagara's second women's curling medal, and first gold. Niagara vice Melissa Borowski (Welland) was named a first-team all-star.

Tournament all-stars were chosen based on individual statistics earned during the round robin. Men's first-team all-stars included Confederation skip Kurtis Byrd (Thunder Bay), Humber vice Michael Checca (Toronto), Humber second Shawn Watt (Woodstock) and Sault lead Mark Dugas (Sault Ste. Marie). Joining Fanshawe's Ronaldson and Heyens as second-team all-stars were Confederation vice Phil Tribe (Thunder Bay) and Sault second Kyle Sherlock (Sault Ste. Marie).

The women's first-team all-stars consisted of Fanshawe skip Jordan Ariss (London), Niagara's Borowski, Fanshawe second Kaitlyn Knipe (Owen Sound) and Seneca lead Jenn Clark (Etobicoke). Seneca skip Megan Van Huyse (Toronto), Confederation vice Grace Esquega (Thunder Bay), Seneca second Hailey Procak (Toronto) and Fanshawe lead Shannon Kee (Sarnia) were women's second-team all-stars.

Fanshawe nearly swept the mixed first-team all-stars which included skip Peter Mulders (St. Thomas), second Rob Ingram (Ridgetown) and lead Karen Lalonde (Orillia). Sault vice Rejeanne MacLeod (Iroquois Falls) also earned first-team honours. Humber skip Graeme Garland (Keswick), Fanshawe vice Anya Hildebrandt (Iroquois Falls), Humber second Curtis Nelson (Markham) and Humber lead Bella Iannetta (Regina, Sask.) were mixed second-team all-stars.

Three teams also received OCAA fair play awards. The Ron Fearon Award was given to the Humber men's team, the Vern Dow Award was given to the St. Clair women's team and the Hap Holman award was given to the Niagara mixed team.

Championship Website: http://www.fanshawec.ca/services/student-services/athletics/2013-ocaa-provincial-curling-championships

OCAA Medalists
Men
Gold: Fanshawe
Silver: Confederation
Bronze: Sault
 
Women
Gold: Niagara
Silver: Confederation
Bronze: Fanshawe
 
Mixed
Gold: Fanshawe
Silver: Sault
Bronze: Humber
 
Fair Play Awards
Men's Fair Play (dedicated to Ron Fearon) - Humber
Women's Fair Play (dedicated to Vern Dow) - St. Clair
Mixed Fair Play (dedicated to Hap Holman) - Niagara

Championship All-Stars

Men's First-Team All-Stars
Skip: Kurtis Byrd, Confederation
Vice: Michael Checca, Humber
Second: Shawn Watt, Humber
Lead: Mark Dugas, Sault
 
Women's First-Team All-Stars
Skip: Jordan Ariss, Fanshawe
Vice: Melissa Borowski, Niagara
Second: Kaitlyn Knipe, Fanshawe
Lead: Jenn Clark, Seneca
 
Mixed First-Team All-Stars
Skip: Peter Mulders, Fanshawe
Vice: Rejeanne MacLeod, Sault
Second: Rob Ingram, Fanshawe
Lead: Karen Lalonde, Fanshawe
 
Men's Second-Team All-Stars
Skip: DJ Ronaldson, Fanshawe
Vice: Phil Tribe, Confederation
Second: Kyle Sherlock, Sault
Lead: Cody Heyens, Fanshawe
 
Women's Second-Team All-Stars
Skip: Megan Van Huyse, Seneca
Vice: Grace Esquega, Confederation
Second: Hailey Procak, Seneca
Lead: Shannon Kee, Fanshawe
 
Mixed Second-Team All-Stars
Skip: Graeme Garland, Humber
Vice: Anya Hildebrandt, Fanshawe
Second: Curtis Nelson, Humber
Lead: Bella Iannetta, Humber

- OCAA -

ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is a recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 30 members sponsoring 16 league and tournament championships.

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Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
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E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com