Both the women’s and men’s Varsity Blues curling teams are getting ready to curl for a national title at the Canadian Intercollegiate Sport (CIS) championship tournament March 19–23. Both teams have been strong throughout the pre- and post-season, with strong finishes at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships.
These results come just one year after both teams failed to make it into the playoff round of the OUAs, ending their seasons empty-handed in 2013. The women earned their CIS berth with a third place finish at the OUAs.
The bronze acted as a continuation of a great regular season for the Blues, who went 7–2. The team’s two regular season losses came at the hands of Carleton and Guelph both of which gave Toronto some difficulty in the playoffs. The women lost a hard game in the semi-finals to Carleton, but were able to rally to a 7–5 victory over Guelph, which came in extra ends.
The men’s team was also successful at the OUAs, claiming a gold medal in an 8–1 routing of Wilfred Laurier University, the only team to hand the Blues a loss this season. It was the first provincial win for the men’s team since 2004, and only the fourth win in its history.
The victory gave the team a place at the CIS championships as well.
In addition to the strong team performances men’s curler Evan Lilly was recognized for his individual performance and was named an OUA first team all-star. Women’s team’s coach Scott Jenkins also received an award, as he was named OUA coach of the year. The CIS curling championships will be held from March 19–23 in Regina, Saskatchewan.
