University of Regina Cougars Head West for USPORTS Canadian Championships!

It will be the second year in a row that both the University of Regina Cougars Men’s & Women’s Curling teams qualified through the Canada West Playdowns and into the USPORTS National Championships!! They both headed east to Winnipeg last month looking for another berth to Leduc, where this years national competition will be held.

The women’s team, with skip Haylee Jameson, third Sara England & coach Tom Hamon returning to the lineup, made their way back to the CanWest Playdowns with a few new faces to their team. Adding junior teammate Shelby Brandt & former U18 provincial champions Sarah Hoag & Kelly Kay. The women had a strong performance as they found themselves in a tiebreaker game for that final spot, where they faced off against University of Winnipeg, finding their rhythm scoring big ends of three twice en route to the 7-2 victory. “Having previous national experience amongst our team (U18 & Juniors) will definitely help us, with the girls all knowing the pressure and expectations that will be placed on them. Sara’s and I experience at the USport nationals last year is simply that benefit to have and can rely on heading into the competition,” says Jameson.

(Left to right): Haylee Jameson (skip), Sara England (third), Shelby Brandt (second), Sarah Hoag (lead), Kelly Kay (alternate) & Tom Hamon (coach).

(Left to right): Drew Springer (skip), Ryan Grabarczyck (third), Grady Lamontagne (second), Brody Blackwell (lead), Jaedon Miller (alternate) & Jamie Schneider (coach).

Drew Springer (third on last years team) also has a few returning players back for another season. Second Grady Lamontagne, lead Brody Blackwell & coach Jamie Schneider were part of the Sam Wills rink last season where they finished fourth in Thunder Bay at the 2017 USPORTS Canadian Championship! “Qualifying at CanWest felt absolutely amazing as I was feeling a bit of pressure for our team to get back to nationals again this year,” says Springer following their victory.

They added third Ryan Grabarczyck & alternate Jaedon Miller where they will participate in their first national experience in Leduc come Saturday. En route to Leduc, the men went 2-2 at the CanWest Playdowns securing them a berth, where their final win over the University of Brandon (8-7) sealed the deal. “Grady, Brody & I have a pretty good idea of the elite level of competition that will be at nationals, as we already have faced off against some of these teams. I think having this previous experience will help us keep calm under pressure,” Springer expresses as they prepare for the national championship in Leduc.

Action begins Saturday! Follow along with all scores/results here.

We want to wish Good Luck & Good Curling to both teams!!

Grady Lamontagne (left), Brody Blackwell (center) & Drew Springer (right) during the 2017 USPORTS Canadian Championship in Thunder Bay (Photo, Curling Canada).

Haylee Jameson watching closely during action at the 2017 USPORTS Canadian Championship (Photo, Curling Canada).