Women's squad captures OCAA title; Hawks snag four medals
SAULT STE. MARIE - The Humber women's curling squad successfully defended its provincial championship, defeating the Niagara Knights in the gold medal match at the Community First Curling Centre, 8-6.
After splitting the series during the round-robin, the gold medal match was tightly contested through each end. In a match that began with blows traded, unfolded with grinding tactics and concluded with one immense shot from the tournament MVP, Meaghan Mallett. It was the fourth provincial championship for the women's team and the third title for head coach Sean Turriff.
After a dominant round-round performance, the men's squad cruised to a semifinal victory over Niagara, 6-2. In the finals, the Hawks found themselves against a formidable opponent in the Mohawk Mountaineers, as both squads traded points throughout the early parts of the match. Skip Zack Shurtleff made a brilliant throw in the seventh end to tie the match. Mohawk responded in the final frame when its skip curled his stone around the centre guard near the button. Shurtleff looked to duplicate the throw but grazed the guard, awarding the Hawks the OCAA silver medal.
Humber-2 captured the silver medal after an 8-0 loss to Mohawk, while Humber-1 finished with a bronze medal.
Coach Sean Turriff was named the OCAA women's team Coach of the Year, while Meaghan Mallett was named the women's championship most valuable player. Jessica Byers and Emma Rebel were named first-team all-stars, while Daniela Aucoin was named to the second team.
Julie Boulos and Emerson Steffler were named mixed doubles second-team all-stars, while Amelia Cino and Matthew Abrams garnered the OCAA Fair Play award.
