Staff
Jenna Enge has assured herself a place in Ontario curling history while Tirzah Keffer was left wondering what might have been.
Enge, a Devlin native who plays second for Sudbury skip Tracy Horgan, is a provincial champion for a second time after Horgan edged Kendra Lilly 4-3 in the final of the inaugural provincial women’s championship Saturday at the Fort William Curling Club in Thunder Bay.
Enge, who was on Horgan’s Ontario championship-winning team in 2012, will be part of the first Northern Ontario women’s rink to compete at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts national championship next month in Moose Jaw, Sask.
Saturday’s low-scoring affair between Horgan and Lilly, who sports Fort Frances product Keffer at lead, was identical score-wise to Horgan’s preliminary-round victory against the Fort William crew on Friday.
But instead of having to steal one in the 10th as she did Friday, Horgan had last rock in the final end this time around.
And she used it to full advantage by scoring one to break a 3-3 tie.
The rules were changed this year so the Northern Ontario winner doesn’t have to go through the Ontario playdowns to advance to the nationals.
Instead, Horgan will participate in a three-team, pre-qualifying tournament against Sarah Koltun (Yukon) and Kerry Galusha (Northwest Territories) on Feb. 12-13 in Moose Jaw.
That winner then will advance to the main field with the other 11 teams at the Scotties, which begins Feb. 14.
