Homan clinches playoff berth
THE CANADIAN PRESS
ST. CATHARINES — Ontario’s Rachel Homan clinched a playoff spot at the Canadian women’s curling championship with her ninth victory.
Homan downed Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville 7-6 in an extra end to stay unbeaten Wednesday.
Manitoba’s Michelle Englot was an 8-3 winner over Nova Scotia and closing in on a playoff berth at 8-1. Ontario and Manitoba meet in a showdown Thursday evening.
The top four teams at the conclusion of the round robin Friday morning advance to the Quebec’s Eve Belisle, who fell to 6-3. McCarville dropped to 4-3 alongside Alberta’s Shannon Kleibrink.
More than four losses often puts teams out of playoff contention. Kerry Galusha of Northwest Territories was 3-4 facing Saskatchewan at night. POSTMEDIA NETWORK
A student athlete in her first year of eligibility and one wrapping up his career at the post-secondary level are the Niagara College athletes of the week.
Emma Caldwell, top female athlete for the week ending Sunday, skipped the Knights women’s curling team to the silver medal at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) championships in Sault Ste. Marie.
She was selected to the second all-star team at provincial championships hosted by Sault College.
The St. Catharines native and E.L. Crossley Secondary School graduate led the team to a 4-2 record in the round robin and advanced to the final with a 7-5 victory over the top-ranked Fleming Knights.
Niagara advanced to the Canadian championships taking place March 21-23 in Camrose, Alta., despite losing 6-4 to the Humber Hawks in the gold medal game at provincials.
While Niagara was eliminated from contention for an Ontario championship in men’s volleyball in the opening round of the playoffs, Jeff Scott earned male athlete of the week honours to end his fiveyear career at the region’s community college on a winning note.
The 6-foot-4 outside hitter from Georgetown left the court after a straight sweep loss to the George Brown Huskies – 23-25, 30-32, 25-27 – as the program’s all-time leader in points, with 930; kills, 770; service aces, 81; digs, 515; as well as games played, 83.
Scott, a catalyst on the 2014-15 Ontario championship team that won the bronze medal at nationals, was named an all-Canadian and an academic all-Canadian in 2015-16. He was the OCAA rookie of the year in 2012-13.