Men's curling team posing with the trophy

Posted: Mar 19, 2023

Men's Curling captures 2023 CCAA National Championship

SUDBURY – For just the second time in program history, Humber men's curling captured the national championship, defeating the SAIT Trojans in the gold medal match, 10-3.

After finishing the round-robin with a 6-1 record, the Hawks opened the championship round against the Sault Cougars (5-2). Humber jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three ends, but the Cougars responded with two points of their own over the next two ends. It wasn't until the eighth when Humber was able to put the semifinal out of reach, scoring three and eventually winning 8-4.

The gold medal match started with Humber and the SAIT Trojans trading points and a blank end before the Hawks put the pressure on through ends four, five and six. Up by six heading into the eighth, Humber added another to close the match 10-3. It was just the second national title for Humber curling after the Hawks captured its first in 2016.

Austin Snyder was named a first-team all-star, while Jacob Dobson and Matthew Abrams were named to the second-team.

With the win, the Hawks received a berth to the 2023 PointsBet Invitational from Sept. 26-Oct. 1 at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville, Ont., chasing a prize purse in excess of $350,000 in a sudden-death single-knockout format.

After dropping their opening match to start the tournament, the women's team rattled off six straight victories to finish first in round-robin play. Matched against the Augustana Vikings in the semifinal, the Hawks could not keep their win streak alive. Augustana recorded multi-point scores across several ends, including four in the second. The deficit was 9-3 after seven, and despite a pair from the Hawks in the eighth, the Vikings advanced to the final with an 11-5 victory.

In the bronze medal match, Humber jumped out to an early lead against Concordia. Up by one after seven ends, the Thunder scored four in the eighth and stole another in the ninth, beating the Hawks, 8-4.

Meaghan Mallett, Parker Doig, and Jessica Byers were named first-team all-stars, while Emma Rebel was named to the second team.