Lawton Beats Englot In Colonial Square Final

Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon has defeated Regina's Michelle Englot, 6-4, to win the final of the Colonial Square Ladies Classic in Saskatoon. Team Lawton finished the event with eight wins in nine games, including seven straight, and captured the trophy for the second time in a row and the third time in the last four years.

Congratulations to the winners: skip Stefanie Lawton, third Marliese Kasner, second Sherri Singler, and lead Lana Vey. Congratulations also to Michelle Englot and her team of third Deanna Doig, second Roberta Materi, and lead Cindy Simmons.

Team Englot reached the final with victories over Cathy Trowell and Chantelle Eberle. The quarterfinal game against Trowell was a good one, with Team Englot scoring a deuce in the 8th end for a 5-4 win.

Englot had an easier time in the semifinal against Eberle, scoring two deuces with the hammer and one without, on the way to a 7-2 final.

Team Lawton won their semifinal against Kelly Scott, who had knocked off Jennifer Jones in the quarterfinals. They also defeated Jolene McIvor in the quarterfinals. The other quarterfinalist was Amber Holland, who lost to Eberle.

It's a great result in a strong field for the Englot team, who are playing well and rolling along -- mostly.

It's an even greater result for the Lawton team, of course, who are also playing well and rolling.

Fans of women's curling in Saskatchewan will be watching these two teams closely; remembering last year's provincial final, perhaps; and -- who knows -- possibly looking forward to another one.

Next up for Team Englot: Abbotsford BC, for the Wayden Transportation Ladies Classic, November 14-17. It's another Grand Slam event, with $60,000 in prize money and a very strong field. Englot starts Friday afternoon against Kristen Recksiedler; possible A event opponents include Cheryl Bernard, Heather Rankin, and Kelly Scott.

Englot Qualifies In Saskatoon!

Team Englot have been in Saskatoon this weekend for the Colonial Square Ladies Classic. I have been unusually busy and unable to blog about each game separately, but half a loaf is better than none...

The format is familiar: 32 teams play a triple-knockout for 8 qualifying spots in single-knockout playoffs. The strategy is familiar as well: win as many games as possible.

So they started with a loss, 8-6, against Kaileigh Strath of Winnipeg, on Friday afternoon, and moved immediately to the B event.

But they rebounded with a 4-2 victory over Tiffany McKeeman of Lloydminster, Alberta, to finish Friday in fairly good shape at 1-1.

They continued to rebound on Saturday, beating Regina's own Jan Betker, 6-3, and then Kerri Flett of Selkirk, Manitoba, 7-3, to remain in the B event at 3-1.

On Sunday afternoon, the roll continued as Englot beat Calgary's Heather Rankin, 7-3, to reach the B event qualifier.

But then they hit another bump. Saskatoon's Stefanie Lawton cracked open a five-ender in the sixth to get out of trouble and emerged with an 8-6 victory.

The win put Lawton in the quarterfinals, along with Winnipeg's Jennifer Jones and Regina's Chantelle Eberle (who both went through the A event undefeated), as well as Cathy Trowell, also of Regina, who qualified through the B with a 6-3 victory over Chelsea Carey of Winnipeg.

And so Team Englot was in the C event. But only for one game.

And on Sunday evening, they beat Karen Porritt of Winnipeg, 9-6 to finish with a 5-2 record and gain a berth in the playoffs.

They'll start with a quarterfinal game against Cathy Trowell on Monday afternoon. And I will say more when I know more.

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So far, so good! Best wishes to Michelle and her teammates.