By Larry Read - TRU Athletics

Brown rink ready to go for gold at CIS Curling Nationals

Mar 15, 2016 | 6:34 PM

KAMLOOPS — Corryn Brown and her rink are ready to win another medal for Thompson Rivers University.

Brown, third Erin Pincott, second Samantha Fisher and lead Ashley Nordin will be representing TRU at the upcoming CIS Curling Nationals.  The Nationals are being hosted by the University of British Columbia Okanagan Heat and will be played at the Kelowna curling club.  The event goes March 20-23rd.

Last year in Waterloo, Ontario, The WolfPack wound up with a silver medal after losing to Alberta and Kelsey Roche in the gold medal match.  They had earlier beaten the Alberta foursome to win the Western Canadian title.

This year, the two rinks met again in the final and this time Alberta came out on top again. “We are convinced that winning the Western’s last year was a bit of a jinx so we are hoping as a result, we will come away with the CIS gold this time around,” Brown laughs. 

Pincott says after going through the 2015 CIS Nationals unbeaten in the round robin, she doesn’t expect that will happen again.  “We got some breaks last year. I don’t think this year we are going to be able to have an ‘off game” and expect to be successful.”

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Brown says having the nationals just two and a half hours away will be advantageous for the WolfPack . “It takes out a whole travel day for us and the time change is great that we don’t have to deal with that.  We have never played a nationals in BC so that is kind of neat.  Our families will be able to come watch as well. “

That sentiment is echoed by Fisher. “There is something special about having your family being able to watch you. When we played at the BC Junior play downs in Kamloops earlier this year, it was great to have them there. This should be the same experience.”

Brown dismisses thoughts that Roche and her rink are the favorites. “ I think there are a lot of good teams. Whoever has the best week will come out on top.”

“There will be a lot of close games,” Nordin added. “Last year we had a ton of close games. We have to play really well to go where last year were. We have been practicing really hard in order to have an even better showing this time.”

Pincott says the curlers at this event are very familiar with each other. “We have met up before either at Cashspiels or in juniors.  We are friends off the ice but on it, it’s another story.

Adds Pincott against playing Alberta:  “We have had some key games in semifinals or finals at different levels over the last five years. It is always sweet when we beat them. But they are a good rink and we respect them.”

The WolfPack rink (aside from Nordin) have played together this year as juniors.  “We got Ashley into the mix during the season as well with her playing on another of the women’s league teams.  She could see our releases and how we were performing.”

After a gruelling cashpiel and junior curling season, are Brown, Pincott and Fisher ‘curled out’. “We definitely have enough gas in the tank to be fired up for Nationals and give it all we can.”

Those three have curled together for 10 years.  Nordin has curled with them as a TRU unit for three years now.    “We have become so close friends. It has been great working together both on and off the ice.”

The Brown foursome went to Kelowna earlier this month to get familiar with the rocks and the ice to give them another advantage going into the CIS Nationals.  Add to that, they have added Allison MacInnes as a coach. She has been to a number of briers in her playing career. Those factors could help translate into a championship.

The TRU sports program has had a lot of success this past year at various levels including seeing the men’s basketball team qualify for Nationals and volleyball player Iullia Pakhomenko being chosen as CIS Player of the Year.  The Brown foursome hope to end the 2015-16 season with another positive result.

“We came so close last year,” said Fisher. “It would be great to cap the year off with a gold medal and national championship.”