HOT START FOR ALBERTA TEAMS
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TEAMS PLETT AND GRAY-WITHERS OPEN WITH TWO WINS IN EDMONTON
With two U-18 national championships, a U-21 Canadian championship, and a World Junior-B silver medal, Edmonton’s Team Myla Plett has let the curling world know that they’re ones to watch in the years to come.
Not to be outdone, another Edmonton-based team, skipped by Serena Gray-Withers out of the University of Alberta has also garnered some attention through victories of their own. With two U Sports National Championships, and back-to-back victories at Curling Canada’s U-25 NextGen Classic, they’ve also earned the label of “young Alberta curlers to watch.”
With the third edition of the U-25 NextGen Classic underway this week at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton, Team Plett (with Alyssa Nedohin, Chloe Fediuk, and Allie Iskiw) and Team Gray-Withers (with Catherine Clifford, Lindsey Burgess, and Zoe Cinnamon) have both started the competition with two wins – setting themselves up for a Pool 1 grudge match on Friday.
Sudbury, Ontario’s Team Emma Artichuk also started with two wins and could compete for one of the top two spots in the pool, which would earn them a playoff berth.
In Pool 2, Victoria B.C.’s Team Taylor Reese-Hansen opened with two wins, as did Team Katie Ford out of Niagara Falls, Ont.
Each team will complete a five-game round robin, playing each team in the pool. The top two will advance to the semifinals.
In the men’s event, Sam Mooibroek (Kitchener, Ont.) is off to a hot start, with three wins in his first three games. Mooibroek (with teammates Ryan Wiebe, Scott Mitchell, and Nathan Steele) won the first NextGen Classic in 2022, but lost the final in 2023. He’ll have to contend with undefeated Cole Adams (Calgary) to claim top spot in Pool 1.
In Pool 2, familiar foes, Team Jordan McDonald (Winnipeg) and Team Jayden King (London, Ont.) both won their opening matches. Both skips played at the New Holland U-21 Canadian Championships in 2023, with McDonald returning in 2024.
Champions not only receive a berth in the 2024 PointsBet Invitational (September 25-29,2024 in Calgary), they also receive $6,000 in NextGen funding which includes opportunities to work with national coaches and other experts. Runners-up take home $4,000.
All games will be streamed on the Curling Stadium Youtube channel found here: https://www.youtube.com/@CurlingZone
Scores and draws can be found at http://curling.ca/scoreboard