Extra end needed to crown women's junior provincial champions
Andrew brethauer January 9th, 2011

Clancy Grandy and her rink from Kitchener-Waterloo Granite Club are on their way to Calgary after a 6-5 victory over Jasmine Thurston's rink, also from Kitchener-Waterloo.

The end came in the 11th end, when Thurston's vice, Pam Feldkamp had to draw to the button to sit one amongst Grandy's three rocks. As it entered the the house and passed the t-line, Grandy's vice Sarah Wilkes swepted hard to push the rock beyond her own, giving the Grandy rink the victory. Watch the final shot

"it was a little of not knowing how to react at first," says Grandy, who didn't have to throw her last rock. "But at the same time, when you win because we swept the rock through, its just a little bit of a different win then throwing your last rock. It takes a little bit for it to set in."

To start the match, both teams played fast and cautious, knocking out every rock thrown into the rings to blank ends. Grandy missed a roll out and took one in the second giving her a lead. In the 4th end, with Thurston already sitting one, Grandy would wreck on the guard giving Feldkamp a draw for two that should would make to take the lead.

In the 5th end, the Thurston rink missed key shots that left the rink open for Grandy to come in and take two of her own and retake the lead 3-2. But the Thurston rink would come back in the 6th end and take another two back to retake the lead. In the 7th they went back to play a tight game. Thurston's rink threatened to steal late in the match, but Grandy would get a double take out and sit one to tie the game.

In shades of what would come to be in the 11th, the 8th end was a steal for the Grandy rink, seeing vice Sarah Wilkes sweep the rock out of the four foot and leave Grandy for one. The teams would blank in the 8th and head to the 10th. Kaitlin Stubbs and Jamie Arnold would sweep in Feldkamp's shot to the button to sit one and send the game into extra ends.

From their, it was a tense end, as a mistake could cost a trip to Calgary.

"We had hammer and I was really comfortable with it," says Grandy. "Going into the last end up one without [hammer] and hold them to one, that's all you could really ask for."

The win for the Grandy rink means Lynn Kreviazuk and Laura Crocker will return to nationals, were they won last year, but lost in the worlds, so they "have some unfinished business," says Grandy.

"I'm really excited," says Grandy about going to Calgary. "We just want to represent Ontario as well as we can."

Grandy is in her final year of juniors, and after seven years of work is going the nationals in Calgary.

"It means a lot to me," she says. "I've been working really hard for the past seven years at provincials trying to get to that next level and I'm just really happy our team could finally push through."