TRU curling falls short in conference championship, qualifies for nationals

The TRU WolfPack women’s curling squad’s dream run at the Canada West championships came to a disappointing end on Sunday as the Kamloops squad fell 6-0 in the final.

The ‘Pack were up against a powerhouse squad in the form of the University of Regina Cougars, who notched their second title win in four years.

Regina opened the scoring with a single in the first frame and added another in the second frame to take a 2-0 lead.

After a scoreless third end, Regina added singles in the fourth and fifth ends before scoring a deuce in the sixth end to seal the win.

The entire WolfPack rink, which is made up of skip Holly Hefali, third Jorja Kopytko, second Hannah O’Neil and lead Natalie Hafeli, were named second-team all-stars at the event.

While it was not the outcome the team wanted, they did qualify for the upcoming U Sports Curling Championships being held at the end of the month in Lethbridge, Alta.

The TRU men’s rink fell 6-4 in their semifinal match against the University of Regina, the eventual champions on the men’s side.

Regina opened the scoring with a single in the first end before TRU responded with singles in the second and third ends.

The Cougars put four points on the scoreboard in the fourth end and that proved to be too much of a deficit for the ‘Pack to overcome.

TRU went on to earn third place at the event.