Englot Topples Arsenault To Share Top Spot

Michelle Englot got off to a fast start against Mary Anne Arsenault on Thursday afternoon, and weathered a strong comeback before scoring a deuce in the tenth end for a 7-5 victory. Englot's record improves to 2-1, tying Arsenault for a share of first place in the 'A' pool. Shannon Kleibrink, who beat Amber Holland in the afternoon, and Kelly Scott, who knocked off Cathy King in the morning, also share top billing, for the moment. All four teams lead winless Sherry Middaugh by two full games, with two games remaining for each team.

Englot resumes on Thursday evening against Middaugh.

In the 'B' pool, Marie-France Larouche remains unbeaten at 3-0, followed by Holland at 2-1. Cheryl Bernard and Cathy King are both 1-2, while Stefanie Lawton is still winless at 0-3. Englot finishes the preliminary round on Friday night against Lawton.

Kleibrink Too Much For Englot (This Time!)

Shannon Kleibrink avenged an early-season shutout loss with a six-end triumph over Michelle Englot in the fourth draw of the Canada Cup on Wednesday evening. Kleibrink scored two deuces and a three-ender to lead, 7-3 at the break, then stole two more to make the final score 9-3. Both teams are now 1-1, tied with Kelly Scott for second place in the 'A' pool. Mary Anne Arsenault leads the table with a 2-0 record, while Sherry Middaugh is 0-2.

Amber Holland and Marie-France Larouche lead the 'B' pool with 2-0 records; Cathy King is 1-1, and Cheryl Bernard and Stefanie Lawton are both 0-2.

Englot resumes tomorrow with games against Arsenault and Middaugh, before meeting Lawton in the final draw on Friday. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the playoffs.

Englot Off To A Great Start At Canada Cup

Michelle Englot, held to a game-tying single in the 10th end, stole the extra end to defeat Kelly Scott in opening-draw action at the Canada Cup in Yorkton this morning.

Englot now leads the 'A' pool with a 1-0 record; Scott and Sherry Middaugh are both 0-1, and the other teams in the pool -- skipped by Shannon Kleibrink and Mary Anne Arsenault -- are just getting started.

Each team will play five games: four in the pool and one cross-over. Englot resumes this evening against Kleibrink, plays Arsenault and Middaugh tomorrow, and finishes the preliminary round on Friday against defending champion Stefanie Lawton.

Lawton got off to a rough start this morning, losing 10-4 against Cathy King. King stole four ends worth six points as Lawton found the hammer toxic. Sometimes it goes that way. But only for a while, and the Lawton foursome will certainly be tough on Friday.

Amber Holland beat Cheryl Bernard, 8-5, in another 'B' pool match this morning, the same score by which Marie-France Larouche beat Middaugh in the morning's crossover game.

The top two teams from each pool will advance to a true Page Playoff, with the pool winners meeting for a spot in the final, while the pool runners-up meet for a spot in the semifinal. And those games will be on TSN later this weekend.

Englot To Play In Canada Cup

Team Canada's victory in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts sends them to the World Championship in Korea, which -- unfortunately -- conflicts with the Canada Cup, for which Jennifer Jones and her team had already qualified.

Fortunately, the team next in line for a berth in the Canada Cup just happens to be available. So when play begins on March 18th, Michelle Englot will be there, along with the rest of her team: Deanna Doig, Roberta Materi and Cindy Simmons.

Yorkton, Saskatchewan. March 18-22, 2009. Be there if you can.

Michelle starts at 12:30 Wednesday afternoon (local time) against Kelly Scott.

And I'll keep you posted.

Lawton Wins Provincial Championship

Rene Mietinnen defeated Jolene McIvor, 6-5, in the Page 3-4 game to reach the semifinal against Amber Holland, who lost, 7-3, in the Page 1-2 game against Stephanie Lawton, who remained undefeated in reaching the final.

In the semifinal, Mietinnen got off to a quick start and hung on for a 7-6 win against Amber Holland.

Lawton got off to a good start in the final and led, 5-2, at the break. Mietinnen tied the game with 3 in the 6th but Lawton blanked the 7th and scored three of her own in the 8th on the way to a 9-6 victory.

Congratulations to Stephanie Lawton third Marliese Kasner, second Sherri Singler and lead Lana Vey. And best of luck to them in Victoria.

McIvor, Mietinnen Grab Final Playoff Spots

Jolene McIvor stole three points in the 8th end to break up a close game and went on to defeat Michelle Englot in a 'C' event qualifier Saturday afternoon. The final score was 8-7, with Englot stealing two in the 10th as McIvor made an open hit against three for the win.

Rene Mietinnen defeated Sherry Anderson in the other 'C' qualifier. That game also ended up at 8-7 can, but it took an extra end to get there.

So McIvor will face Mietinnen in the Page 3-4 game. And the winner of that game will face the loser of the Lawton-Holland 1-2 game, in the semifinal.

It's a difficult ending for the Englot and Anderson teams, but there are so many good women's teams in Saskatchewan, and there's a difficult ending in store for all but one of them.

Congratulations to those teams still in the hunt; here's hoping the best of them will emerge with the championship.

Holland Defeats Englot In 'B' Final

Amber Holland stole three points in the 8th end of the 'B' final to break up a close game and hung on for an 8-5 victory. Holland advances to the Page 1-2 game against 'A' event winner Stephanie Lawton; Englot drops into one of two 'C' event qualifiers, Saturday afternoon against Jolene McIvor. The other 'C' qualifier pits Rene Mietinnen against Sherry Anderson; winners advance to the Page 3-4 game.

Englot Wins Again To Reach 'B' Final

Michelle Englot never trailed in her 'B' semifinal against Rene Miettinen on Friday evening, but she and her team from Regina still needed an extra end to win the game.

Englot led 3-0, 4-3, and 6-4, but Miettinen scrambled back to tie the score each time, stealing a single in the 10th to force an extra end.

But Englot scored two in the eleventh for an 8-6 victory and will face Amber Holland in final of the 'B' event Saturday morning.

Englot Rally Continues

Michelle Englot and her team from Regina continued to rebound after their opening loss with their second consecutive victory in the provincial championship in Swift Current. Thursday night they were in a tight game against Ros Stewart until the seventh end, when Englot made two terrific shots to count three points and take a two-point lead. Steals in the 8th and 9th ends cemented the win. The final score was 8-3.

Englot remains in the 'B' event and will face Rene Miettinen again, in a 'B' semifinal on Friday evening.

Sherry Anderson and Amber Holland, who both lost 'A' semifinals, will meed in Thursday evening's other 'B' event game. The winner of Anderson-Holland will face the winner of Meittinen-Englot in the 'B' final.

The 'A' event is complete, and Stefanie Lawton has won it, taking the 'A' final by a 10-2 score against Miettinen. Lawton now awaits the winner of the 'B' event in the "page playoff 1-2" game.

Englot Rallies For Convincing Win

Michelle Englot rebounded from her opening-game loss in Swift Current with a convincing 9-1 win over Sherrilee Orsted to remain in the 'B' event.

Enlgot gave up a steal in the first end, but nothing more. She cashed in a deuce in the second end, stole three straight singles, and then stole four more in the sixth end to put the game away.

Englot will play Ros Stewart on Thursday evening. And I will keep you posted.

Playdowns Start Badly For Englot In Swift Current

Michelle Englot and her team from Regina earned a bye to the provincial championship this year, which is a 12-team triple-knockout, and were seeded into the second round of the 'A' event.

But their first game spelled the end of the smooth sailing, as Rene Miettinen scored a deuce in the first end and stole another in the second on the way to an 8-end, 11-5 victory.

Miettinen had beaten Tracey Streifel in their first-round game, while Englot waited. Perhaps the wait was too long.

Englot will have to fight her way back from the 'B' event, beginning Thursday afternoon with a game against Sherrilee Orsted.

Lawton, Englot Advance To Provincials

From SaskCurl.com:

(Dec 24) The Saskatchewan Curling Association announced Tuesday that Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon and Michelle Englot of Regina have earned automatic berths into the Scotties Women's Provincial Championship. The two teams earned the highest points on the Canadian Team Rankings System to advance. Lawton had 34 points while Englot had 30. Lawton and Englot will compete in the Provincial Championship in Swift Current, January 28th to February 1, 2009 under a new 12 team format.

I'll keep you posted.