Trailing 6-0 after just two ends to Dorothy Holmgren, the odds of Lois Tabak winning her first-ever ladies’ curling bonspiel definitely weren’t in her favour.
True, she managed to score three in the third end to cut the lead in half but then gave up one in the fourth and a steal of two in the fifth to trail the Kenora rink 9-3.
As they say in the curling circle, “It was about time to shake hands.”
But to her credit, Tabak didn’t–and instead pulled off one of the most impressive comebacks an ‘A’-event final here has ever seen.
Tabak’s foursome, which included Maureen Thomson, Diane Wilson, and Carol Leigh Laing, started the wild comeback by scoring a four-ender in the sixth.
They stole two more in the seventh to tie the score at 9-9, then won the game in dramatic fashion with a steal of one in the eighth and final end.
“I thought the four in the sixth gave us some confidence,” said Tabak, who had reached the ‘A’ final of the local bonspiel twice previously but never won the big game.
“But, if I think about it, the two to tie us up [at 9-9] was important, too. They were both very pivotal,” she added.
So was the three-ender in the third, which Tabak said got them going after a slow start.
“We scored three but we had a chance for seven,” she recalled. “We showed we could get rocks in the house . . . we started to get momentum.”
Thomson felt the nickname ‘Comeback Tabak’ given her skip after the game was appropriate, and agreed the sixth end was huge.
“It brought us back in the game and when we were only down by two, we had a better attitude,” Thomson said. “We started to make our shots in the sixth end, and after that, we thought anything could happen.
“It was very exciting . . . we were the crowd pleaser,” she added.
Tabak admitted the come-from-behind win was one of “mixed emotions.”
“We didn’t curl that well but anytime you win, it’s nice,” she said, noting her rink was her usual Tuesday night team.
“We had some very close games but then we would end up ahead three coming home. Things were tight but then the momentum went our way,” she added.
Tabak opened action in the 36-team field with a convincing 9-2 win over Linda Hill, then beat Roz Broman 8-5 and doubled Sandra Robertson 6-3.
She earned a berth into the final with another 6-3 win, this time over Judy Labelle on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, Tracey Coran’s rink earned a 7-4 win over Karen Angus on Sunday to win the ‘B’-event.
Her foursome–which included Mary Beth Tkachuk, Kerri Tolen, and Doris Barton–opened with a 7-6 loss to Jackie Windigo but then won their next three games (8-6 over Kathie Jackson, 12-2 against Anna Lindholm, and 7-6 versus Danielle Robinson) to reach the final.
Jackson’s rink won the ‘C’ final with a 10-4 victory over Broman.
Opening with losses to Teresa McFayden (11-6) and then Coran, Jackson, whose rink included Kim Beaudry, Kelly Wagar, and Stacy Beacham, beat Kim Williamson 7-1 to advance to the final.
Finally, Sandra Robertson’s rink of Leslie Kellar, Diana King, and Grace Angus downed Jackie Windigo 8-2 to win the ‘D’ event Sunday.
Robertson opened play with an 8-7 win over Williamson, then beat Nettie Monasterski 8-5. But she lost her next game to Tabak before beating Val Shields and Kim Roy by identical 6-4 scores to reach the final.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
