February 26, 2009
GOLDEN HAWKS TO DEFEND WORLD CURLING TITLE AT WINTER UNIVERSIADE
HARBIN, China - Canadian third Danielle Inglis of the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks did what any young woman would want do on her 21st birthday – she spent the day hanging out with friends, receiving birthday greetings from her family and running up the credit card at the shopping mall.
Oh yeah – and she hooked up with the rest of her Team Canada mates, beat Great Britain 7-5 in the semi-finals of the 24th Winter Universiade and set up a date with Chinese national hero Bingyu Wang for gold on Friday.
"That was the deal," said Inglis. "If we won, we all got to spend the afternoon shopping. Had we lost, we would have played for bronze later this afternoon. That didn't really seem like a very fun option to us, so we made a pact. Win – and spend the rest of the day hunting for bargains."
Whatever works, ladies. You might be able to argue the methodology – but you have to respect the results.
Entering the tournament as a self-professed 'dark horse', the Canadians shed any measure of obscurity they were hoping to use to their advantage with a 9-0 record in the round robin portion of the event. With the Maple Leaf on their back serving as a bulls-eye for the remaining medal contenders, the Canadians faced a stiff test in Thursday's semi-final against Great Britain.
After blanking the opening end, the Brits stole one in the second to open the scoring. Canada got that back with a single in the third, and the teams blanked the fourth.
The fifth end was a little dicey for the Canadians as they made a bunch of half-shots in a row – setting up Great Britain for a big end. Sarah Reid took advantage of the Canadian miscues and cracked a four-ender in the 5th taking a 5-1 lead into the break.
"I guess if it's going to happen, it's good that it happened in the fifth," said Hollie Nicol. "You get the longer break and better chance to regroup. Normally it only takes a couple of minutes for us to shake an end like that off."
"I just reminded them that it's long way from over," said Canada team coach Jennifer Ferris. "We talked about how there was still a lot of game left to play, and they just needed to regroup and go after it. They don't have a lot of experience at the international level, but they've curled a lot of games together. They know that if they hang in there and play smart, they'll get their chances."
The girls battled back - scoring two in 7, stealing one in 8 and stunning the Brits with a steal of three in 9 to take a 7-5 lead. The Canadians ran Great Britain out of stones in the final end and secured their place in the Friday's final.
"I thought they did a great job staying patient," remarked Ferris. "5-1 down at the break seems like a big gap, but in reality it isn't. You just try and score your deuce, and follow it with a steal. I'm a little surprised they didn't score in the back half of the game, but our girls stepped it up and forced their hand a bit at times."
Great Britain's second half collapse wasn't just a matter of Canada turning up the intensity - game management in the back half of the game also played a significant role in the outcome.
"They were really running short on time," noted Nicol. "Even in the 9th, they were down to six-and-something. They had to hurry their shots a bit, and it's tough when you take yourself out of your rhythm."
The Canadian win sets up the gold medal showdown that many were hoping they'd get. Chinese national champion Bingyu Wang is nothing short of revered at these games, and after the Nicol and company beat her 7-6 on Monday in the round robin, fans started the anticipation of a gold medal rematch.
"I think they'll be better in the final that they were earlier in the week," said Nicol. "They'll have a pretty big cheering section going for them as well, but the fans will be expecting the Chinese to win. To be honest, I think it takes the pressure off us."
Team Canada website: www.cisport.ca/harbin
2009 Winter Universiade website: http://en.harbin2009.org
Source: CIS Communications
Oh yeah – and she hooked up with the rest of her Team Canada mates, beat Great Britain 7-5 in the semi-finals of the 24th Winter Universiade and set up a date with Chinese national hero Bingyu Wang for gold on Friday.
"That was the deal," said Inglis. "If we won, we all got to spend the afternoon shopping. Had we lost, we would have played for bronze later this afternoon. That didn't really seem like a very fun option to us, so we made a pact. Win – and spend the rest of the day hunting for bargains."
Whatever works, ladies. You might be able to argue the methodology – but you have to respect the results.
Entering the tournament as a self-professed 'dark horse', the Canadians shed any measure of obscurity they were hoping to use to their advantage with a 9-0 record in the round robin portion of the event. With the Maple Leaf on their back serving as a bulls-eye for the remaining medal contenders, the Canadians faced a stiff test in Thursday's semi-final against Great Britain.
After blanking the opening end, the Brits stole one in the second to open the scoring. Canada got that back with a single in the third, and the teams blanked the fourth.
The fifth end was a little dicey for the Canadians as they made a bunch of half-shots in a row – setting up Great Britain for a big end. Sarah Reid took advantage of the Canadian miscues and cracked a four-ender in the 5th taking a 5-1 lead into the break.
"I guess if it's going to happen, it's good that it happened in the fifth," said Hollie Nicol. "You get the longer break and better chance to regroup. Normally it only takes a couple of minutes for us to shake an end like that off."
"I just reminded them that it's long way from over," said Canada team coach Jennifer Ferris. "We talked about how there was still a lot of game left to play, and they just needed to regroup and go after it. They don't have a lot of experience at the international level, but they've curled a lot of games together. They know that if they hang in there and play smart, they'll get their chances."
The girls battled back - scoring two in 7, stealing one in 8 and stunning the Brits with a steal of three in 9 to take a 7-5 lead. The Canadians ran Great Britain out of stones in the final end and secured their place in the Friday's final.
"I thought they did a great job staying patient," remarked Ferris. "5-1 down at the break seems like a big gap, but in reality it isn't. You just try and score your deuce, and follow it with a steal. I'm a little surprised they didn't score in the back half of the game, but our girls stepped it up and forced their hand a bit at times."
Great Britain's second half collapse wasn't just a matter of Canada turning up the intensity - game management in the back half of the game also played a significant role in the outcome.
"They were really running short on time," noted Nicol. "Even in the 9th, they were down to six-and-something. They had to hurry their shots a bit, and it's tough when you take yourself out of your rhythm."
The Canadian win sets up the gold medal showdown that many were hoping they'd get. Chinese national champion Bingyu Wang is nothing short of revered at these games, and after the Nicol and company beat her 7-6 on Monday in the round robin, fans started the anticipation of a gold medal rematch.
"I think they'll be better in the final that they were earlier in the week," said Nicol. "They'll have a pretty big cheering section going for them as well, but the fans will be expecting the Chinese to win. To be honest, I think it takes the pressure off us."
Team Canada website: www.cisport.ca/harbin
2009 Winter Universiade website: http://en.harbin2009.org
Source: CIS Communications
