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Close call for Team Berthelot and Team J. Jones in Scott Provincials It has been
a challenging couple of weeks for two of Whirlpool’s women’s curling
teams. Even under the pressure of grueling schedules and extensive play, Team
Janique Berthelot of Laval, Quebec and Team Jennifer Jones of St. Vital, Manitoba
showed determination and perseverance in their quest to achieve provincial titles.
Unforuntately, despite their outstanding efforts, both teams fell just points
short of advancement to the Scott nationals, February 15-23, in Kitchener-Waterloo,
Ontario. After securing a winning title in their section at the Scott regionals in Montreal, January 3-4, Team Berthelot qualified as contenders in the Scott provincials, held January 19-26 in Alma, Quebec. After placing fourth overall at the provincials last year, Team Berthelot was eager and prepared to succeed this ranking in hopes of securing the title spot. The week started out on a streak for Team Berthelot, securing a 7-0 record during the first four days of playoffs. Thursday January 23, saw a small upset for the team as they lost their 9:00am game against local Team Nathalie Gagnon with a score of 3-7 but tried to rally back in their 2:30pm game in which they tied (counted as a win), 5-5, with Team Nicholls. Team Berthelot did not let this slight obstacle deter their efforts, as they went on to win their last two games on Friday January 24, ranking them first out of 12 teams, with a final 10-1 record. Quarter-finals commenced Saturday morning as Team Berthelot once again met their biggest competitor, Team Gagnon. After battling hard to try to overcome their previous loss to Gagnon, they were unsuccessful, falling short 6 points with a score of 8-2. As a result of their first place ranking entering the quarterfinals, Team Berthelot was able to advance to a spot in the semi-finals despite their loss to Gagnon. Here they met Team Cheryl Morgan, who was ranked third behind Team Gagnon, with a record of 9-2. Even with a strong start and a consistent effort to stay on top, Team Berthelot finished one point short of Morgan, to place third overall in the competition. Rivals Team Morgan and Team Gagnon went on to battle each other for the title, with Alma’s Team Nathalie Gagnon securing the Scott title and a spot at February’s national championship with a final score of 6-3. Whirlpool Home Appliances™ congratulates Team Berthelot on their outstanding efforts at the provincials and their highly successful curling season.
Having won the Scott provincials last year, and continuing on to tie for second place at the 2002 Scott Tournament of Hearts in Brandon, Manitoba, Team Jennifer Jones was in good standings to walk away with another provincial championship in 2003. Her team was practiced and prepared to encounter some of Manitoba’s best teams during provincial playoffs that commenced Wednesday January 29 to February 2, in Morden, Manitoba. During the first two days of playoffs, Team J. Jones secured four wins in a row, which placed them in top position in the rankings. Even with an unfortunate loss to Team Chris Scalena of Portage on Friday morning, Team J. Jones still remained one of the reigning competitors as they beat veteran curlers Team Connie Laliberte later that afternoon. After another unexpected shake-up Saturday morning losing 8-7 to her hometown rival, Team Karen Young of St.Vital, Team J. Jones was still awarded the first place position in the Red Group with a score of 5-2. With Young and Laliberte tied for second place, a tie breaker game played at 7:00pm Saturday night, saw Team Laliberte advance to the playoffs. Page playoff on Sunday February 2, met Team J. Jones of the Red Group with her first- place competitor from the Black Group, Team Barb Spencer of Fort Rouge. With a remarkable effort put forth, Team J. Jones walked away with a 7-4 victory advancing them to a position in the finals. After winning a qualifying semi-final game against Team Cathy Overton-Clapham of Fort Rouge, Team Spencer went on to meet Team J. Jones once again in the finals at 5:00pm. With a difficult start and Spencer gaining 5 points in the first 4 ends, Team J. Jones could not recover enough points to overcome Spencer. They ended up taking the second place spot with a score of 8-2, just missing the chance to once again play in the Scott nationals. Whirlpool™ is proud to be a supporter of such a talented team and congratulates Jennifer and her team on their remarkable achievements during the 2002/2003 curling season. We
wish Colleen Jones and her team the best of luck as they will attempt to defend
their title at the 2003 Scott Tournament of Hearts national championship in Kitchener-Waterloo,
Ontario, February 15-23. |
