SUNDRE - Although a silver medal was not quite the result her team had hoped for, a former Sundre curler who competed in the Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts was nevertheless satisfied with their effort.
“I’m extremely proud of the girls,” said Becca Hebert last week.
“We were as prepared as we could be,” said Hebert, who plays second on Team Rocque of the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton.
Competing alongside skip Kelsey Rocque, lead Jesse Marlow, and third Danielle Schmiemann, who is also a former Sundre curler, Hebert said their objective was to again secure a spot in finals following last year’s championship round when they placed second after coming up short against Team Carey.
“Coming into this season, ultimately our goal was to make the finals again, and hopefully to flip the result,” she said.
Team Rocque played a total of nine games during the Alberta Scotties, which were hosted in Okotoks. They finished the round robins with a record of 6-1, putting them against Team Walker in a one-two, page playoff, in which the winner goes straight to finals while the other team goes to semifinals.
Edmonton-based Team Walker, from the same club, claimed victory in the match, while Team Rocque proceeded to play in the semifinal round against Team Hilker, who they defeated for a chance at the gold medal final.
“We had a really good showing,” Hebert said about the semifinal against Team Hilker.
“We had a commanding lead. We shook early,” she said, adding the game was called in their favour by the eighth end, bringing them into the Sunday, Jan. 26 final, which proved to be an uphill battle against a talented team.
“Team Walker had a very strong week. They went undefeated. They had a very, very strong showing,” she said.
“We were excited to get another crack at them."
Team Rocque ended up placing second with a final score of 7-4 for Team Walker.
“We had a good back and forth until the fourth end,” said Hebert.
After that point, Team Walker took the lead and Team Rocque spent the rest of the match trying to chase them, she said.
“We gave it our best shot,” she said, calling Team Walker’s victory well earned.
“That’s sports, that’s the way it goes — sometimes you win and sometimes you learn.”
Schmiemann said the format was changed up for provincials this year, providing an opportunity to play against each team.
“It was a really positive change and step in the right direction. It was nice to play everyone,” she said, adding the approach was more fair and led to the best teams ending up in the finals.
“We played really well, that’s one of the best weeks of curling we’ve had on a week-by-week basis for the entire year,” she said, adding the first two of three games against Team Walker were challenging.
“We didn’t play our best in the first couple of games against them,” she said, adding Team Rocque throughout the rest of provincials “otherwise felt like we were in control. The ice was fantastic, which makes it easier to play consistently.”
Overall, Team Rocque had what Hebert described as “an extraordinary season.”
This was their second year playing together, having decided after last year’s run at finals that the team clearly has potential, she said.
“We were hungry to get back on the circuit.”
They added numerous notches to their proverbial belts since last fall, breaking through for an opportunity to play across the country in four grand slams sponsored by Pinty’s.
“We made all of the slams to date this year,” she said, adding they played at events in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan and Ontario.
Additionally, she said Team Rocque emerged victorious to become champions at the Vernon Prestige Classic, an event on the world curling tour, in B.C. early on in October.
“We really exceeded many of our goals that we’d set for ourselves. We’ve grown a lot,” she said, adding the team remains committed to playing together for the next two years with a potential bid for the next Olympics in mind.
Had Team Rocque won the Alberta Scotties, they would have continued on to the upcoming 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, which takes place in Saskatchewan later this month.
“I think that pretty much wraps up our season for us,” said Hebert, adding she may yet participate non-competitively in some fun spiels. Expecting a child in March, she was glad to be “able to squeeze in a good season.”
Schmiemann, who is in her second year of a three-year acupuncture diploma program at McEwan University, will be teaming up with Jason Ginter, from Dawson Creek, for the mixed doubles provincials later this month in Lethbridge.
"I’ve known him for many years, we played in the University of Alberta program together, that’s where we met," she said, adding with a chuckle that had Team Rocque advanced to the national Scotties tournament that Ginter "would have been looking for another teammate!"
Currently working with the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine, Hebert expressed her gratitude for “all of the support extended throughout the year. Danielle and I have quite the fan base in Sundre. It means a lot to us that people are still following our curling careers — it’s very humbling. I’m very honoured that people are that invested in how we do and cheer us on.”
