Canada's university curling champs, led by the back end from Scarborough, geared up for their upcoming provincial and national championships by winning a prestigious tournament in Japan that included some high level competition, most notably a former world champion and Olympic bronze medalist from China.
The Scarborough duo of skip Laura Crocker and third Sarah Wilkes guided their defending national champion Wilfrid Laurier University women's curling team to a 9-8 come-back win in the tournament final over the Swiss team on Sunday, Jan. 29.It looked to be over for Canada when the Swiss team, which competed in the 2006 and 2007 world championships (finishing 10th and fifth, respectively), scored three in the ninth end to take an 8-5 lead.But Crocker's team tied it up with three in the 10th and then, despite giving up the hammer sealed it with a stolen point in the extra end.It was all the more sweet as Crocker's team lost to the Swiss to open the tournament, 5-4.Crocker's team also defeated the above noted Chinese team 10-8 in the semifinals, after forging a first-place 5-2 preliminary round record (which included another win over the Chinese team, 6-2).Crocker and Wilkes are two-time defending national university champs with Laurier. Crocker went to Cedarbrae Collegiate and curled at the Scarborough Golf and Country Club; Wilkes attended Birchmount Park Collegiate and curled at Tam Heather on Military Trail.The provincial university championships are mid-February and the nationals are the following month.