Undefeated Scheidegger rink in first at Alberta Scotties

By Dale Woodard - Lethbridge Herald on January 6, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDsports@lethbridgeherald.com

It took an extra end and a little fine draw weight, but the Casey Scheidegger rink remains undefeated after Day 3 of the Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Grande Prairie.
Scheidegger and her Lethbridge Curling Club rink of third Cary-Anne McTaggart, second Jessie Haughian and lead Kristie Moore edged Edmonton’s Laura Walker 8-7 in the afternoon draw Wednesday to improve to 5-0 this week.
With Scheidegger up 7-4 after nine ends after scoring two in the eighth end and stealing one in the ninth, Walker – the defending Alberta champion whose rink features Lethbridge product Taylor McDonald at second – counted for three in the 10th to force the extra end.
But with Walker lying two in the 11th and Scheidegger with the hammer, the Lethbridge skip dialed up the draw weight needed to catch the four-foot for the winning point that puts the locals at 5-0.
That’s good for first place after three days of play and keeps Scheidegger as one of two undefeated teams heading into today’s play, the other being Edmonton’s Kelsey Rocque (4-0).
The loss was Walker’s first of the week, putting her at 3-1 and in third.
In the first draw Wednesday, Scheidegger defeated Edmonton’s Selena Sturmay 7-6.
In the Wednesday afternoon draw, Walker posted a single in the first end before Scheidegger counted for a pair in the second end and stole one in the third to move up 3-1.
Walker got one back in the fourth end and after a blanked fifth Scheidegger held a 3-2 lead at the break.
Scheidegger went up 4-2 with a single in the sixth, but Walker drew even with a two-ender in the seventh to knot things up at 4-4.
After counting for two in the eighth end and stealing another in the ninth to go up 7-4, Scheidegger looked to be in control coming home.
But when the local skip wrecked off a guard in front of the house on a takeout attempt, the door was open for Walker to draw for three as the Edmonton skip made good on the attempt to force the extra end.
But with their undefeated record on the line and with the hammer in the 11th end, Scheidegger drew in nicely on her last shot to grab the win.
In the morning draw against Sturmay, Scheidegger grabbed two points in the third and fourth ends to erase a 1-0 deficit and take a 4-1 lead.
Sturmay got one back in the fifth end to cut the lead in half at 4-2, but Scheidegger added two more in the sixth to go up 6-2.
With Scheidegger up 7-3 coming home, Sturmay made things interesting in the last end with a three-ender, but fell just short in her comeback bid as the Lethbridge quartet hung on for the 7-6 win.
Scheidegger is back in action this afternoon at 2 p.m. as she faces Elysa Crough (2-2) from Edmonton.
In the Wednesday morning men’s draw Calgary’s Kevin Koe doubled fellow Calgary rink Jeremy Harty 8-4, while Edmonton’s Karsten Sturmay defeated Sexsmith’s Scott Webb 7-5.
With the wins, Koe and Sturmay will square off in the A-event final today at 9 a.m. with the winner earning a provincial berth.
The B-event final goes Friday at 9 a.m. with the final two provincial berths in the C event final going Friday at 7 p.m.
The 7 p.m. B-event Wednesday draw was underway at press time.
Ryan Parent was taking on Webb, while Ryan Jacques played Harty.
In the other 7 p.m. game, Ted Appelman faced Parker Konschuh.

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