Jamie Mountain
It was a tale of redemption for the Tracy Fleury rink from Sudbury at the Northern Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts held there Jan. 11-14.
Just a year removed from a heartbreaking 10-6 loss to Krista McCarville of Thunder Bay in the 2017 final in Nipigon, it was Fleury who flipped the script this time around with a 6-4 triumph.
The Fleury rink, comprised of Crystal Webster (third), Jennifer Wylie (second), and Amanda Gates (lead), along with Devlin native Jenna Walsh (nee Enge) as the fifth–now will represent Northern Ontario at the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts which gets underway Saturday in Penticton, B.C.
It will be the rink’s first appearance at the national women’s championship since earning back-to-back berths in 2014 and 2015.
Walsh said a change in strategy was instrumental to the rink’s success at the provincials.
“Our game plan heading into provincials was to keep our strategy as simple as possible to allow for our skip to always have access to an easy shot on her last stones,” she explained.
“In the past, we were a team who loved to have lots of rocks in play,” Walsh noted. “However, this led our team into impossible situations where we were behind in the score early [and] trying to claw our way back.
“This simple strategy also allowed each position to play easier shots, in which we were more often successful,” she added.
Walsh lauded the McCarville rink for being a formidable opponent, noting her rink found themselves in another tough battle in the final.
“In the first half of the final, we found ourselves down in score because the McCarville front-end players had every end set up to either steal or score,” she recalled.
“We were very thankful that Tracy had incredible draw weight that day.
“We were able to switch the momentum in the last five ends with a very nice deuce and two steals in ends seven, eight, and nine, putting us in a fantastic position being up two without last rock heading into the last end,” she enthused.
With a return trip to the Scotties looming, Walsh believes her new-look squad will be well-prepared to compete.
“Since the last time we played in the Scotties, we have totally revamped our team,” she noted.
“We have employed a five-player rotation throughout the last few seasons and we have improved immensely in our performance goals, fitness, and mental preparation.
“I feel we are already way ahead of where we were three seasons ago,” Walsh admitted.
“[But] we would definitely like to improve on our round-robin record,” she adding, noting the rink fell one game short of being in the playoffs in 2015 in Moose Jaw, Sask.
“This is our first time playing with the new Curling Canada format, and it is imperative to be first or second in our pool in order to put ourselves in a good position in the championship round,” Walsh stressed.
“Ultimately, we want to be Canadian champions and stand atop the podium,” she remarked.
“But until then, we will need to play well and stay in the moment for each and every game.”
On a personal level, Walsh is hoping to mentally prepare herself well enough so she can be a big contributor when the action gets underway.
“My goals going into this year’s Scotties is to play to the best of my capability,” she said.
“I’ve been practising every day so that I can be as prepared as possible, and have been visualizing myself in game-time situations to also be prepared mentally.
“My second goal is to be as supportive and helpful as I can for my teammates when I am not playing,” Walsh added, noting she will be rotating in at the second position for round-robin play.
