The spots are beginning to fill up for the B.C. Mixed Curling championships.
Royal City Curling Club’s Steve Kopf’s rink, which includes third Ashley Sanderson, second Matthew McCrady and lead Patty Wallingham, spent the B.C. Family Day weekend capturing the No. 1 berth at the Lower Mainland playdown in Cloverdale.
Kopf scored the winning point in the ninth end to defeat Golden Ears’ Grant Dezura for the A final title.
Down 3-0 after the first three ends, the Royal City crew scored twice in the top of the fourth end, gave up a single in the fifth, but responded with two in the sixth and one in the seventh to take the lead for the first time. Dezura tied it in the eighth, before Kopf won it in the next end.
Also securing a spot was the three-club rink – Vernon, Royal City and Tunnel Town – of skip Nicholas Umbach, third Jaelyn Cotter, second Connor Deane and lead Cassidy Schwaerzle. They picke dup the second position.
They also ran up against Dezura in the B final, emerging with a 6-3 victory. Umbach counted three in the first end and a single in the second before the Golden Ears rink countered with a pair in the third. By scoring two in the fourth end, Umbach’s team picked up the second berth to the provincials.
Coming up short in the playdown was the Martin Matsutani rink, based out of Vancouver and Royal City clubs.
The B.C. Mixed Curling championships are slated for April 10 to 14 in Vancouver.
