Building an impressive resumé
Ella Lenentine rink earns right to represent P.E.I. in second Canadian championship in 2024
It’s been a busy and successful season for an up-and-coming P.E.I. girls’ curling team… and it’s far from over.
The Ella Lenentine rink recently won the P.E.I. junior (under-21) women’s curling championship, and the right to represent the province at the nationals in Fort Mcmurray, Alta., March 24-31.
“We came together at the start of the season, talked about our goals and have met all of them, so far,” said Lenentine, who skipped the rink to the provincial under18 championship in early January.
Lenentine and teammates Makiya Noonan, Reid Hart and Erika Pater posted identical 5-0 (won-lost) records in both provincial championships, which each attracted three teams and featured double round-robin formats.
“Obviously, it’s a big accomplishment,” said Lenentine. “At the start of the season we sat down and discussed our goals.
“Our main goal was U18 because we are a U18 team. Juniors was something we wanted to go to, but if we didn’t end up making it, it wasn’t the end of the world because it wasn’t technically our age (group).
“We are going to get lots of experience from it and are looking forward to it.”
Along with the provincial championships and competing in events throughout the Maritimes, Team Lenentine had a strong showing as the P.E.I. representative at the Canadian under-18 championships in Ottawa.
“We went 4-4, and all the four losses could have been wins,” said coach Robbie Lenentine. “They were very competitive. Their record didn’t indicate how they played in Ottawa.”
Ella said the experience gained at the under-18 nationals will prove beneficial in Fort Mcmurray.
“U18s were definitely a big help, and it was Reid’s first nationals,” said Ella. “For her, that was good and for us, as a new team, to figure out what we need to work on at nationals.
“It was a good experience, and we got to play a lot of teams from across the country and a lot of those teams are going to be at juniors in Fort Mcmurray.”
Hart joined the rink this year and has fit in perfectly, said Ella.
“We always played against her in P.E.I., and we really enjoyed her as a competitor and also as a friend,” said Ella. “We are friends off the ice. … She’s been great.”
The Lenentine rink, which lists the Cornwall Curling Club and Silver Fox Entertainment Complex in Summerside as its home clubs, also registered a 3-3 record in the P.E.I. Scotties Tournament of Hearts women’s curling championship in late January. Sophie Blades, a UPEI student who skipped Nova Scotia to a gold medal in the 2023 Canada Winter Games in P.E.I., skipped the Lenentine rink in the P.E.I. Scotties.
“We had a different team at Scotties, but we all got to experience playing teams that are better than us and more experienced,” said Ella. “It helped a lot with our strategy and seeing what we need to do playing stronger teams.”
Robbie agreed with the assessment the young team will benefit greatly from the Scotties experience.
“I think they opened a lot of eyes with the older teams and made their mark on the map,” added the coach. “They put a lot of work in this year and it’s definitely paying off.”