For the second year in a row Wadena’s Delores Syrota and her rink are national championship medallists.
After winning the 2017 Canadian Masters Womens’ Curling Championship, Syrota and her rink narrowly missed out on making it a double as they lost 8-4 to British Columbia in the final.
“It was good to get back into that final game. Of course, you’re hoping for the gold medal… it would have been great to have been able to say you were a two time, back-to-back but getting to the silver, we were happy with that too,” said Syrota.
Syrota and her Saskatchewan rink rolled through the early portion of the tournament posting six straight wins over Yukon, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Northern Ontario, outscoring the opposition by a combined score of 46-12.
After dominating the first six contests, Syrota and her rink ran into some trouble as they suffered three straight losses, losing 6-4 to Ontario, 6-5 to British Columbia, and 6-4 to Quebec.
While the three losses stung, Team Syrota did enough to qualify for the playoffs, where they took on Nova Scotia in the semi-finals.
Despite losing three straight, Syrota noted with the way the bonspiel was scheduled with a round robin, championship pool, and playoffs, it was important the team have a short memory.
“It’s just like you’re starting a new event so you just don’t think about the schedule behind you, you’re happy that you’ve accomplished getting into that semi-final game...We’ve made it, now go forward.”
After beating Nova Scotia 4-3 in the round robin, Syrota and her rink enjoyed a much easier time in the semi-finals as they scored three in the second and four more in the fourth to lead 7-2 through four ends.
Syrota never looked back winning 8-5.
That win was the biggest of the week, says Syrota.
“I don’t like playing in the bronze medal because it’s not a great time if you’re in the fourth spot because you were there but you’re out of it.”
Syrota and her rink moved into the final to take on B.C.
The final got off to a tough start for Syrota as her foursome gave up four in the second and trailed 5-1 through three ends.
Syrota’s rink refused to quit despite the hole, and were rewarded for their efforts as they scored once in the fourth, and twice more in the fifth, to cut B.C.’s lead to 5-4 through five ends.
Unfortunately, a trio in the sixth for B.C. spelled the end of Saskatchewan’s comeback bid as B.C. escaped with an 8-5 win.
It was the four point second end that Syrota looks back on and wishes she could change, noting that end changed the whole complexion of the contest.
“I didn’t throw it good and it over curled and it jammed on our own and it took our shot rock out… so it’s just one of those bad outcomes, but you take that shot back and the game would have been a different game.”
Overall, Syrota was real pleased with how the week went, calling it “awesome” and giving a lot of credit to the organizing committee for their work.
With the curling season now complete, Syrota says her rink will enjoy the summer before getting back at it next fall.
“We’ll just take a break from it now and then just regroup again in the fall and see what we can do from there.”
