The Niagara College Women's Curling Team won its first ever OCAA Gold Medal on Sunday, February 17th, earning a dramatic victory over the Confederation College Thunderhawks. The team consists of Head Coach Scott Brown, and players Katie Spanton, Tess Brown, Hilary Minor, Melissa Borowski.
The five day Championship was hosted by the Fanshawe Falcons at the St. Thomas Curling Club. The event featured teams from 10 schools, and when the round robin was completed, Mohawk, Confederation, Fanshawe and Niagara College were the four teams vying for an OCAA Women's Curling Medal.
The Knights cruised to a 3-1 record in the round robin, their only loss being an 8-1 defeat to Confederation during the opening draw of the Championship.
Niagara College Curling Head Coach Scoot Brown felt "very pleased with the way the women's team played in the round robin. The opening match was a result of nerves and some bad luck, but the girls settled down and found their groove in the next three matches."
After the first match, the Knights made a personnel change that Brown felt really sparked the team. "We moved Melissa (Borowski) to the skip position. It was something we had planned heading into the event and the team really responded well."
Borowski, a second-year Occupational and Physio-Therapy Assistant student, was outstanding for the Knights, leading the team in a dramatic come-from-behind victory over the host Falcons in the Knights semi-final matchup.
The Knights trailed 5-3 heading into the final end versus the Falcons, before scoring two-points to tie the match in the eighth end. The Knights completed the improbable comeback by stealing a point in the ninth end.
The 6-5 victory over Fanshawe gave the Knights an opportunity to avenge the opening draw defeat to Confederation.
In the gold medal match, the Knights came out strong taking a 4-0 lead through the fifth end. The sixth and eighth ends however, saw the 12-time OCAA Women's Champion Thunderhawks rally and once again force the Knights into extra ends.
The Knights returned to their early match form and scored four points to secure Niagara College's first ever OCAA Women's Curling Championship.
As a result of her outstanding play during the Championship, Melissa Borowski was named an OCAA First-Team All-Star. The Welland native, received high praise from Coach Brown who commented "Melissa has a calming influence on the team, which really helped when we were in come from behind situations."
The Niagara College Women's Curling Team will now head to Edmonton, Alberta from March 20-23 to take part in the 2013 CCAA Curling National Championships. The event will feature the top-eight women's curling teams from across Canada.
