2011 WU Update: CIS Announces Canadian Curling Teams

OTTAWA – Canadian Interuniversity Sport announced Monday the 10 CIS student-athletes and the team officials who will represent Canada in curling at the 2011 Winter Universiade in Erzurum, Turkey.

The 24^th Winter World University Games will run from January 27 to February 6. The curling tournament kicks off on Jan. 28 with the finals set for Feb. 5.

Heading the red and white curling delegation in Erzurum will be team leader Wendy Morgan, women’s coach Travis Brown, men’s coach Richard Henderson, as well as Alison Fisher, who will serve as team official for the women’s team.

The University of Regina Cougars and Queen’s University Gaels will defend the Canadian colours in women’s and men’s competition, respectively. Both rinks earned the privilege by winning gold at the 2010 CIS championships, last March in Montreal. 

The Regina women’s team, which edged Saint Mary’s 6-5 in an extra end to capture the CIS title, is comprised of skip Brooklyn Lemon, third Chelsey Peterson, second Ashley Green, lead Nicole Lang, as well as alternate Sarah Watamanuk.

Lemon and her troops will look to resume Canada’s impressive run of success in women’s curling at the Games. Since the sport made its Universiade debut in 2003 in Tarvisio, Italy, the Canadian women have reached the final of all three tournaments claiming silver in 2003, gold in 2007 (Turin, Italy) and silver in 2009 (Harbin, China). Curling wasn’t part of the Universiade program in 2005 in Austria. 

Canada is set to open round-robin play against China on Jan. 28 in a rematch of the 2009 gold-medal final that saw the Chinese prevail 6-5. Canada had finished the preliminary round in first place with a perfect 9-0 record, including a 7-6 decision over China.

On the men’s side, the Queen’s squad, which claimed CIS gold last winter thanks to a 7-6 defeat of UPEI, is made up of skip Jonathan Beuk, third Andrew Inouye, second Chadd Verdermade, lead Scott Chadwick and alternative William Francis, a veteran of the 2009 Universiade team when he attended Wilfrid Laurier University.

The Canadian men are coming off back-to-back sixth place finishes at the 2007 and 2009 Universiades, after capturing gold in the inaugural tourney in 2003. They are set to debut the 2011 competition against Switzerland on Jan. 28.

Sweden is defending Universiade champion on the men’s side.

Ten countries will compete in both the women’s and men’s tournaments in Turkey. The top four teams at the end of round-robin play advance to the semi-finals.

(Source: Michel Belanger, CIS Media Officer)