SCOTTIES NOTES: Alberta, Selena Sturmay miss on chance to advance

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The nerves and the stress of the second appeared to lastly get to Alberta skip Selena Sturmay.

It was a troublesome day on the workplace — when she couldn’t afford it — Saturday afternoon on the 2024 Scotties Match of Hearts.

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“I feel there was a little bit of each,” mentioned Sturmay after the 6-4 loss within the Web page playoff 3-v-4 elimination sport. “We undoubtedly got here in desirous to play with no concern, but when we had been saying we didn’t have nerves, we’d be mendacity.

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“These nerves stemmed from an excellent place, although. We cared about that sport, and we wished to win.”

Sadly, that didn’t occur.

Too many misses, particularly from the skip herself, stored her from advancing to Sunday’s closing day.

That after such a strong week to complete — to many individuals’s shock — 7-1 within the spherical robin for first place in Pool A and thru to the Web page playoff after an elimination-game win Friday over Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes.

“It’s a little bit bit bittersweet,” Sturmay mentioned. “We undoubtedly didn’t have our greatest sport (Saturday), however you’ve obtained to present props to Kate Cameron’s workforce — they performed very well. And on the finish of the day, they had been the higher workforce, so that they had been deserving of that win.”

Sturmay tried to hit-and-roll with hammer to clean the primary finish however caught round as a substitute.

Then she flashed on a run-back together with her final rock within the third finish, giving Cameron a draw for 3, which turned out to be the most important second of the sport.

In 4, Sturmay’s hammer throw did not push an enemy rock off the button, permitting Manitoba to steal one.

After which in each the seventh and ninth ends — with the door cracked open a little bit for a attainable comeback — the Alberta skip couldn’t stick round on hit-and-roll probabilities to choose up deuces.

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“It sucks that I didn’t have an excellent sport,” mentioned Sturmay, who completed with 84% accuracy, whereas third Danielle Schmiemann, second Dezaray Hawes and lead Paige Papley wrapped up the sport with respective 94%, 81% and 91% totals.

“I really feel prefer it was most likely my worst sport all week, however that’s simply curling,” continued the skip of Edmonton’s Saville Group Sports activities Centre squad. “That’s the sport — you’re good some occasions, and also you’re not good different occasions. So it’s simply unlucky.

“I feel we had been getting tricked with ice, simply over-throwing and under-throwing. I feel it was moreso only a precision factor on weight than how we had been throwing the rock.”

The efficiency to finish their workforce debut on the Scotties, nonetheless, shouldn’t make her really feel any much less happy with the accomplishment of the complete week as Alberta’s consultant.

In spite of everything, it was fairly a experience in entrance of a supportive home-province crowd.

“To do that nicely on this occasion, I feel we’ve undoubtedly put our title on the market,” added Sturmay. “So I feel persons are going to acknowledge Crew Sturmay any further. On the finish of the day, I’m simply actually pleased with our efficiency and the way every thing went.

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“The ladies curled superb all week. It was undoubtedly disappointing to lose within the 3-v-4 sport. However we’re a first-year workforce collectively, trying to construct and develop and simply look ahead to subsequent yr.”

CHEER THEM ON, ALBERTA!

Kate Cameron was the one feeling the heat of Alberta help through the 2021 Scotties within the Calgary curling bubble, regardless that there was no one within the area to cheer her on as a consequence of COVID restrictions.

So maybe it was unusual after that have and sporting Alberta colors for 4 years that she was thought-about the ‘villain’ Saturday on the Calgary-hosted Scotties Match of Hearts, taking part in the half to success with a 6-4 oust of the home-province squad.

“Noooo …” mentioned Cameron, after the elimination sport over Edmonton’s Selena Sturmay moved the Manitoba rink into Sunday’s closing three at WinSport. “I performed in Alberta for therefore lengthy, and so they have such good fan help. So that you don’t really feel that means.

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“It’s no secret they need to be cheering on Sturmay.”

They had been, which was admittedly a contact unusual for Cameron’s second Kelsey Rocque, a local of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., who’s only a yr faraway from curling her total profession flying the Alberta flag.

“Just a little bit,” mentioned Rocque, 29. “The group was undoubtedly pro-Alberta, for good purpose. Selena had an awesome week, and so they had been the house workforce. We talked about it earlier than the sport that we knew that there was going to be big crowd help for the Alberta women.

“I mentioned to (lead) Mackenzie (Elias) after we had been on the market, ‘How cool would it not be to be the house province?’ And that a part of me, for certain, I at all times wished to win Alberta.”

Cameron’s alternate, Taylor McDonald, is Alberta-born, as nicely, from Lethbridge, that means the squad from Winnipeg Granite Curling Membership has heavy Wild Rose roots and some different connections to the province.

Maybe the curling followers at WinSport can decide up on that for Sunday’s routing pursuits.

“I hope so,” added Rocque. “Tay and I can cowl the Alberta bases for Manitoba, for certain. Alberta is a proud a part of us.”

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ROCQUE AND A HARD PLACE

Rocque and Schmiemann spent a few years collectively making an attempt to achieve the Scotties as a workforce primarily based out of Edmonton.

It took a cut up and becoming a member of different rinks to get them to their objective and deep into the nationwide championship.

So it was a wierd feeling, certainly, for the nice buddies to lastly meet up in Saturday afternoon’s elimination draw.

“It was onerous not taking part in together with her this yr,” mentioned Rocque, admitting to holding again tears when speaking about their separate curling paths. “We’re each one another’s maid of honours in a few months. In order that was a extremely onerous sport to play.”

Rocque was the skip and Schmiemann the third on a ladies’s workforce that constantly flirted with successful Alberta for 5 consecutive years via the 2022-23 season, after which Rocque moved to Carberry, Man., and joined Beth Peterson’s workforce after which — in the end — Cameron’s crew for this run with a pregnant McDonald nearing her due date.

“They’d a heck of every week right here,” added Rocque of Schmiemann and Alberta. “We form of joked that we hadn’t had an opportunity to play one another but this yr. And, after all, it needed to be the 3-v-4 sport at Scotties after we did. So I’ll 100 per cent admit that I used to be nervous for that sport only for that purpose. That’s a extremely good pal of mine.”

Rocque and Schmiemann had been additionally Canadian and world junior queens collectively again in 2015.

Macdonald additionally skipped beneath Rocque for six years via junior and girls’s campaigns however by no means in the identical lineup as Schmiemann.

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

http://www.twitter.com/ToddSaelhofPM

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