This weekend in Brantford, again on the eve of the Olympic Trials, the Team of Strong (skip), Cunningham (third), second Laura Strong (who was with her Sister in 2004), and Lead Peg Goss (who was with Cunningham in 2004) fought their way into the Playoff Round and again faced Team Rizzo, in a Quarter-Final. This time it was a well-played close match with Team Rodrigues Winery blanking the 7th but running out of rocks in the final end trying for a 3 that would send the game to an extra end. The final score was 5-2, the margin of victory was a 3 scored by Rizzo in the 3rd end, and again Team Rizzo went on to win the Championship (defeating Canada’s reigning Olympic Champion, Shannon Kleibrink of Calgary, 7-5 on the strength of 3 in the final end).

Coach Geoff Cunningham said that he is, “Delighted the Team had several quality games and many quality ends against a good variety of competition. It is quite impressive for Team Rodrigues Winery to place 5th in a field that included the USA Olympic Team plus six of the eight teams that will play in Canada’s Olympic Trials next month”. Laura Strong explained that, “It has not been since Saskatoon in October 2007 that we have played as many games in a weekend event”.

Team Rodrigues Winery finished at 5-3. Their other two losses were to Saskatchewan’s Amber Holland and Alberta’s Crystal Webster, both of whom have qualified for the Olympic Trials and both of whom made the Playoff Round in this Event. Also Team Rodrigues Winery had a crucial second game 5-4 win over Saskatchewan’s Robyn Silvernagle accomplished by a steal in the final end. Silvernagle, a 21-year old not yet well known on the World Tour, also went on to qualify for the Playoff Round.

Lead Peg Goss said that, “It is great that we got experience against established teams such as Webster and Holland, seasoned veterans such as Rizzo and Cathy Auld of Toronto, and young talent such as Slivernagle (who, as a 17-year old, skipped Saskatchewan to a 7-5 record in the 2005 National Junior) and Hollie Nicol from Waterloo (who represented Canada at the 2009 World University Games in Harbin, China)”. The 7-5 win over Nicol, with a 4 in the 2nd end, put Team Rodrigues Winery into a Section C Qualifier against Cathy Auld; a 7-3 victory with a 4 in the 7th end.

The other two games played by Team Rodrigues Winery were an opening 7-3 win over Karen Bell of Stoney Creek, Ontario and a 6-0 win over Colleen Madonia from Thornhill, Ontario in draw #11. Team Rodrigues Winery finished among the leaders in two of the five offensive and defensive categories for which the ASHAM World Tour keeps statistics.

Third Cathy Cunningham said that, “The Team will be following a training plan in order to keep our game at a level that will hopefully enable a successful defence of our Scotties Tournament of Hearts Provincial Championship” which begins on January 6. Team Rodrigues Winery plays out of the RE/MAX Centre ( www.stjohnscurlingclub.com ) and will play games each Wednesday in RE/MAX SuperLeague Curling.

Ontario has been kind to Provincial Ladies Championship Teams skipped by Heather Strong. They have placed 5th in prestigious events in Ontario cities on 5 occasions; and at the 2006 Scott Tournament of Hearts in London they had 7 round-robin wins before losing a tie-breaker. Also current team members Cathy Cunningham and Peg Goss were Silver Medalists and Canadian Runnners-up to Colleen Jones at The Scott Tournament of Hearts in Kitchener-Waterloo in 2003.

Team Rodrigues Winery plays their first game in the premier Ontario Cashspiel at 8:30 am (10:00 Nfld. Time) Friday against the Stoney Creek Team skipped by Karen Bell, an experienced Ontario cashspiel curler. Their second game in the 32-team $50,000 triple-knockout Bonspiel will be 3:00 (4:30 Nfld. Time). The only time these two teams have gone head-to-head was in October 2006 when Team Rodriques Winery won 7-3.

Skip Heather Strong says that, “Our goal will definitely be to build on our showing in PEI two weeks ago”. Lead, Peg Goss, adds that, “We have been working on fine tuning some aspects of our game that we hope to put to the test against such a great field”.

Third Cathy Cunningham said that, “With 6 of the 8 Olympic Trials teams in attendance there will no doubt be a lot of attention paid to this Event”.

This event is being hosted at 3 local clubs; the Brantford Golf & Country Club, the Brant Curling Club, and the Paris Curling Club. Among the other premium teams are:

• Quebec’s Eve Belisle and Marie France Larouche (the 2008 Champion in Brantford),
• Markham, Ontario’s Julie Hastings (the 2007 Champion in Brantford),
• three USA Championship teams (Debbie McCormick, Patti Lank, and Erica Brown),
• Manitoba’s Janet Harvey and Kristy Jenion,
• Hollie Nicol from Waterloo who represented Canada at the 2009 World University Games,
• 1990 Canadian Champion and 2009 Ontario Finalist, Alison Goring,
• 2005 Olympic Trials participant and home-town favorite, Jo-Ann Rizzo,
• PEI’s 2-time Canadian Junior Champion & 2001 World Champion, Suzanne Birt, and
• New Brunswick’s Andrea Kelly (2005 Canadian Junior Champion and current NB Champion who eliminated Team Rodrigues Winery in Charlottetown 2 weeks ago).

In St. John’s, Team Rodrigues Winery plays in the Mens RE/MAX SuperLeague at the RE/MAX Centre ( www.stjohnscurlingclub.com ).

Coach Geoff Cunningham said about the Team of Peg Goss, Laura Strong, Cathy Cunningham, and Heather Strong that, “They not only faced a good mix of former Junior stars and experienced veteran talent, but there was good variety in the types of games they played. Also they played effectively throughout the different game circumstances by holding leads, battling back from deficits, and putting away quality teams after getting off to a quick start.

Team Rodrigues Winery skip, Heather Strong, said that, “some of our competition were commenting that ice conditions were tricky; however, we found the ice just like back home. The RE/MAX Centre’s ice had us well-prepared for what we faced at the Charlottetown Curling Club.”

Highlights were:

• Game 1 was a hard-fought 6-5 victory over Sarah Rhyno’s Nova Scotia Team, but an extra end was needed to defeat the 2006 National Junior Bronze Medalists and a Finalist in this Event. Their previous head-to-head encounter (at the 2007 Sobeys Slam) was also a 6-5 extra end win for Team Rodrigues Winery.
• Game 2 looked to be a battle (against Erin Carmody’s 3-time and current PEI Junior Championship Team who defeated the 5-time PEI Ladies Champion in their first game). However Team Rodrigues Winery got out to a 5-0 lead and picked up 4 more in the 4th end for a 9-1 victory.
• In Game 3, veteran Jocelyn Nix of Truro stole 2 in the 3rd end for a 3-1 lead, but Team Rodrigues Winery stole singles in the 7th and 8th for a 6-4 come-back victory.
• Team Rodrigues Winery scored in each of the first 4 ends in a 9-0 Game 4 victory over the 5-time PEI Ladies Championship Suzanne (Gaudet) Birt foursome. Gaudet, the round robin winner in the 2003 Scott Tournament of Hearts, also had a distinguished junior career (twice winning the Canadian Championship as well as the 2001 Worlds).
• Game 5 of the round robin was against Jill Mouzar, the 2001 and 2004 Nova Scotia Junior Champion and 2004 World Junior Silver Medalist (who were already eliminated from the playoffs). With bragging rites at stake (Mouzar, who had defeated Team Rodrigues Winery at the 2007 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Lethbridge) got out to a 4-0 lead and they held off a comeback for a 6-5 victory despite steals in the 4th and 8th ends.
• Sunday’s Semi-Final was against the second place team in the other section, the Andrea Kelly Team from Fredericton. It was a similar game with defensive-minded Kelly leading 2-0 at the half-way point, but they needed 4 in the 6th end for a 6-4 victory in their third encounter with Team Rodrigues Winery. These teams faced each other at both the 2006 (London / NL win) and 2009 (Victoria / NB win) Scotties.

Team Kelly went on to defeat the Sarah Rhino foursome 5-2 to take the First Place cash ($3,260) at this Event. Team Rhino collected $2,260 and the Semi-Final losers each took home $1,410.

The Team of Peg Goss, Laura Strong, Cathy Cunningham, Heather Strong and Coach Geoff Cunningham will battle in their Section to win out over a good mix of former Junior stars (two of them Canadian Champions) and experienced veteran talent. The top two teams in each section will make the playoffs on Sunday. If necessary, tie breakers will be used to decide the final spots.

Team Rodrigues Winery skip, Heather Strong, said that, “Our three games on Friday start very early (7:30 AM) against the 3-time and current PEI Junior Champion, Erin Carmody.   Carmody had a winning record in the 2009 National. At 3:30, they play the always tough Jocelyn Nix of Truro who, undoubtedly, will be tuning up for another impressive run at the Nova Scotia Provincial Championship. At 9:00 PM they play the Suzanne (Gaudet) Birt Team. Birt is a Scotties Tournament of Hearts round robin winner, 2-time Canadian Junior Champion, and the 2001 World Junior Champion.

Team Rodrigues Winery finishes their round robin 1:00 Saturday against Jill Mouzar, the 2001 and 2004 Nova Scotia Junior Champion and 2004 World Junior Silver Medalist.

Coach Geoff Cunningham explained that, “It was two Maritime teams in the 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Victoria that knocked Team Rodrigues Winery (then playing as Team NL) from a Playoff position, and it will be good experience to play their top teams in meaningful competition. Also our Team is planning to play exhibition games in Nova Scotia in December.”

The Team plays out of the RE/MAX Centre ( http://www.stjohnscurlingclub.com/ ) and participates in RE/MAX SuperLeague Curling. After opening their season in Winnipeg without a victory, Team Rodrigues Winery has been gathering momentum having qualified in the Bally Haly Mens Cashspiel last weekend, and a SuperLeague victory over the Alex Smith Team (a Finalist in the Bally Haly Cashspiel).

Heather Strong said that, “While we are obviously disappointed with the weekends’ overall result, we have been able to take some positives away that we will build on leading into the rest of our season.” Second, Laura Strong agreed with her sister’s enthusiasm looking forward, stating that, “There were a lot of good shots made this weekend, and certainly aspects of our game that we are proud of. We have also been able to identify what areas need a little more work and intend to start that process right away.”

The outcomes and highlights for Team Rodrigues Winery’s games this weekend are:

• The Heather Nedohin Team from Edmonton had a 5-3 opening game victory over Team Rodrigues Winery, stealing singles in the 4th and 6th ends. Nedohin is the 1996 World Junior Championship skip and 1998 Canadian Ladies Championship third who has competed in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts on five occasions.
• In game two, Team Rodrigues Winery was knocked from Section B by the Lisa Bixhavn Team from Winnipeg. Bixhavn, who also stole two singles (in the 2nd and 5th ends) during her 6-4 victory, was the 1998 Manitoba Junior Championship skip and 1999 Manitoba Mixed Championship third as “Lisa Roy”. Team Rodrigues Winery fought back in the game with 3 in the 6th end to tie the score 4-4.
• Team Rodrigues Winery was eliminated from Section C by a 7-4 loss on Saturday night to the Kim Link Team of Winnipeg, the same team that defeated Team Rodrigues Winery in a game in this Event last year. Link, a regular competitor in the Manitoba Scotties Provincial, picked up 3 in both the 5th and 7th ends after Team Rodrigues Winery had gotten out to its first lead of the weekend (3-1) with a steal of 2 in the 4th.

Event statistics and playoff results are available on the Asham World Tour Web Site available from the Schedule Page or Links Page on the Team Rodrigues Winery Web Site. In St. John's, Team Rodrigues Winery plays in RE/MAX Superleague Curling at the RE/MAX Centre. Their next World Tour competition will be the Bally Haly Mens Cashspiel this weekend.

The 32 teams entered will battle it out with Team Rodrigues Winery in a triple-knockout ending Sunday night. The top eight teams in the triple-knockout will play a sudden death playoff round on Monday with the winner receiving $15,000.

"This is a world-class field which this Team is accustomed to playing in. The girls are comfortable there and we are all looking forward to Winnipeg and a good start to our season."

For Team Rodrigues Winery, the only team from Atlantic Canada entered, it will be their first competition of the season. From a scan of the impressive entry list including the Olympic Teams from Sweden and Switzerland, Coach Geoff Cunningham commented that, "This is a world-class field which this Team is accustomed to playing in. The girls are comfortable there and we are all looking forward to Winnipeg and a good start to our season."

Third Cathy Cunningham explained that "We are excited to be competing in our first spiel of the season, and getting off to a good start."

Team Rodrigues Winery opens 12:00 (2:30 in Newfoundland) Friday against the Heather Nedohin Team from Edmonton in a well matched opener. Strong has faced Nedohin several times in the last decade, but as a third; the last time being in Game 2 of the Players Championship at Mile One Stadium in April 2008 (a loss for Team Rodrigues Winery). The last time the two went head-to-head as skips was at the National Junior in Edmonton in 1996 (a win for Strong and the year Nedohin went on to win the World Junior as "Heather Godberson").

The Friday evening game for Team Rodrigues Winery will be at 6:00 and the competition will either be Marie France LaRouche from Quebec or Lisa Blixhaven from Manitoba.

Skip, Heather Strong, said, “We are fortunate to enjoy cooperation from great sponsors such as Rodrigues Winery, Harveys Home Heating, Natural Newfoundland Nutraceuticals, and Travellers Inn and affiliates. This has allowed us to register for:

• the Manitoba Lotteries Women’s Classic; a $62,000 32-team World Tour Grand Slam Event starting in Winnipeg on Oct. 23,
• the Bally Haly Cash Spiel which plays in St. John’s October 29 - November 1,
• the Rodd Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic in Charlottetown, PEI starting November 5; an $8,000 sectional play round robin which is the most exciting Atlantic Canada event option this season, and
• the $50,000 Sun Life Financial Invitational Curling Classic in Brantford, Ontario, starting November 20; another 32-team triple knockout with playoff event.”

While complete team rosters are not yet available for these events, Third, Cathy Cunningham said that, “We have played at these events in past seasons and choose them for the high calibre of teams that will be entered”. Second, Laura Strong added that, “This schedule will enable us to get a wealth of competition with other elite teams on the World Tour. Consistent exposure to those teams is essential for our continued development.”

Team Rodrigues Winery Lead, Peg Goss explained that, “We will also play in the RE/MAX Center SuperLeague and have plans for competitive games as well as intensive coaching throughout the season. This is intended to sharpen the Team’s skills with a view to returning to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in late-January.” (The Provincial Championship, scheduled to start in Gander on January 5, and the National from January 29 - February 7, 2010.)

Coach, Geoff Cunningham advised that, “I am thrilled to coach one of Canada’s top women’s teams, and if I can help add a couple of key shots a game, great things will happen.”

Coach, Geoff Cunningham advised that, “I am thrilled to coach one of Canada’s top women’s teams, and if I can help add a couple of key shots a game, great things will happen.”

Curling fans and followers of Team Rodrigues Winery should bookmark this site to track their play this season. Event web sites can be accessed from the Team’s Links and Schedule Pages. As well, there will be Team Press Releases issued before and after each of the mainland World Tour Events.