Steady as they go
Robyn MacPhee defends P. E. I. Scotties Tournament of Hearts title Sunday in Cornwall
The Robyn MacPhee foursome were steady Eddies in a 6- 2 win over the Lauren Lenentine rink Sunday in Cornwall to earn their second straight P. E. I. Scotties Tournament of Hearts championship.
The MacPhee- skipped squad scored one in the first end, twice in the fifth then three more during the next four ends until it had built a 6- 2 edge, which Lenentine conceded to in the 10th.
It was a bit of redemption after MacPhee’s rink started the tournament with a 9- 0 loss to the Veronica Smith squad. MacPhee attributed the win to just plain stick- to- it- ness. “We just plugged away. We had a rough start this weekend, but we turned it around and grinded through,” said Mac- Phee, whose foursome moves on to the national Scotties Jan. 27- Feb. 4, in Penticton, B. C. “We didn’t play well ( early) and we knew we could play ( better). We didn’t put a whole lot of thought to ( the loss). It was a short game so it was easy to forget.” MacPhee got the early 1- 0 edge and that stood until Lenentine scored one in the fourth to tie it 1- 1.
MacPhee than added two in the fifth and drew for a single in the sixth. Lenentine recovered with a draw for one in the seventh and cut the edge to 4- 2. But MacPhee grabbed two more during the next two ends and salted the game away.
Lenentine, the reigning P. E. I. junior women’s champ, was pleased with her team leading up the junior nationals. Cornwall is her squad’s home club and the Scotties gave her team a chance to play they wouldn’t have had otherwise.
“We were glad to have the practice. We didn’t expect to reach the final so we’re very happy,” said Lenentine. “In the sixth end we had a couple of missed peels that didn’t help us. The fourth end was a turning point as we only got one instead of three.”
With the event’s modified, triple- knockout format, Lenentine needed to win twice on Sunday to claim the title. Had she won the early game, a second game was set for 7 p. m. MacPhee needed to win one of the two games to take the crown.
Lenetine’s rink also included third Kristie Rogers, second Breanne Burgoyne, lead Rachel O’Connor and coach Pat Quilty. The foursome returns to the ice later this week to prepare for the junior nationals, Jan. 13- 21 in Shawinigan, Que.