Thompson of Kamloops begins B.C. Women’s Curling Championship with win

Jan 29, 2019 | 10:55 AM

KAMLOOPS — Karla Thompson got the start she was looking for at the B.C. Women’s Curling Championships in Quensel, winning 6-5 in 10 ends over Kesa Van Osch from Parksville. 

The start to her first game maybe wasn’t what Thompson drew up, getting down 3-0 after the first two ends. But after the third was blanked, Thompson rebounded with one in the fourth end, then stole another in the fifth to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Thompson kept the momentum going, stealing another three in the seventh end to go up 5-3. Van Osch, however, got two back in the eight. Thompson blanked the ninth and held the hammer going into the 10th, scoring one to secure her first win of the tournament, which she won in 2016. 

The Thompson rink will play fellow Kamloops team skipped by Corryn Brown on Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. Brown won her first game of the tournament 8-5 over Prince George’s Brette Richards. 

There are six Kamloops players competing in Quesnel, including third Erin Pincott and lead Ashley Klymchuk on Team Brown.

Ashley’s husband Tyler Klymchuk, also from the Kamloops Curling Club, skips a team that dropped its first game of the championship 12-5 to the Jason Montgomery rink out of Victoria. Klymchuk’s team clawed its way back from 7-1, scoring three in the sixth and stealing one in the seven to cut the deficit to 7-5, but it was simply too much in the end to overcome. 

Fellow Kamloops Curling Club member Jared Kolomaya is a third on Daniel Wenzek’s team that won 13-2 in their opening game on Tuesday. 

Meantime, Jim Cotter out of Vernon is trying to get back to his eighth Brier and first since 2017 after losing in the provincial final last year.