CurlManitoba Release (5PM: Monday, Nov. 8) Kim Link and her East St. Paul teammates Colleen Kilgallen, Karen Fallis, Renee Fletcher, and fifth Lynn Fallis -Kurz have won the 2021 CurlManitoba Senior Women’s Championship.

Link, who won her third Manitoba Senior Women’s title, defeated Norma Purdy of St. Vital (Patti Ulrich, Marlene Lang, Gwen Wooley and fifth Nicole Goshawk) 7-4 Monday afternoon at Pembina.

Leading 6-4 playing the seventh end, Link was able to get a rock behind cover in the four foot, forcing Purdy to draw full to the four foot circle. The draw was just heavy and Link stole a point to lead 7-4 coming home. Link ended the game with a double kill on her first rock of that eighth end.

Link had earned the triple knockout event’s “A” playoff spot and a bye to the final. Her three preliminary round games were all victories over former champions; Sandra Cowling, Maureen Bonar, and Laurie Deprez.

Purdy qualified for the playoffs through the last-chance “C” event and played Maureen Bonar’s Charleswood team, which was skipped by Joelle Brown, in the semi-final. Purdy had lost two previous games during the championship to the Bonar team but it was third time lucky as the St. Vital foursome scored a 7-5 victory to advance to the final game.

Link previously skipped the Manitoba Senior Women’s champions in 2015 and 2018. She was joined both times by second Karen Fallis, who threw third on each of the earlier champion teams. This year’s lead Renee Fletcher and fifth Lynn Fallis-Kurz were members of the 2018 team.

For third Colleen Kilgallen, the 2021 championship is her first Manitoba curling title.

The champions will have the opportunity to represent Manitoba at the Everest Canadian Senior Championships December 6-11 in Sault Ste. Marie.

(1PM: Monday, Nov. 8) LINK TO PLAY PURDY IN MANITOBA SENIOR WOMEN’S FINAL….Norma Purdy and her St. Vital team have won the semi-final game of the CurlManitoba Senior Ladies Championship underway at Pembina, defeating the Maureen Bonar team (skipped by Joelle Brown) 7-4 on the morning draw.

Purdy led by three coming home but faced three when she went to the hack to deliver her final rock. A double kill left a steal of one.

It was a Purdy shot on the first end that may have changed the tone of the game. Facing two, without last rock, Purdy hit and rolled behind a corner guard. Brown attempted a tap to remove it but just rubbed the Purdy rock and gave up a steal instead of a possible score of two.

The game was tied 2-2 when the next big break came. Purdy, with hammer on the fifth, drew her first rock to backing behind cover and when Brown could not follow, Purdy had a draw for two and a 4-2 lead. Purdy stole three more on the sixth. Brown took two on the seventh to set up the three down, need to steal scenario which almost worked out.

The Purdy team will play Kim Link and her East St. Paul team in the final game at 2PM.

(11PM: Sunday, Nov 7) PURDY-BONAR SEMI-FINAL, WINNER PLAYS LINK……Sunday was a tough day for former champion Laurie Deprez and her Stonewall team at the Manitoba Senior Women’s Championship at Pembina. Team Deprez had lost the “A” qualifying game Saturday.

Dropping to the “B” Q-game, they were beaten 9-2 by Maureen Bonar’s Charleswood team, skipped by Joelle Brown. The loss dropped them to the “C” Q-game where they played Norma Purdy’s St. Vital foursome and suffered another loss.

The 10AM Monday semi-final has the Bonar team playing Purdy and her team with the winner advancing to a 2PM final game against Kim Link’s East St. Paul team.

(6PM: Saturday, Nov. 6) LINK ADVANCES TO SENIOR WOMEN’S FINAL….Kim Link’s East St Paul team (Colleen Kilgallen, Karen Fallis, Renee Fletcher, Lynn Fallis-Kurz) team is a win away from the Manitoba Senior Women’s title. Team Link won the “A” Event playoff spot Saturday afternoon at Pembina and with it a bye to the provincial final game Monday afternoon at 2pm.

Team Link had Laurie Deprez and her Stonewall team in trouble right from the outset. Early first ends draws to the four-foot behind centre guards left Deprez facing a Link stone on the button with her last rock. An attempted run-back failed and Link stole a point.

On the second end, a Link steal was the result of her being able to split the rings early and another steal came in the third when a biter just behind the teeline counted.

Deprez salvaged a single point with a draw to backing against a Link rock buried in the four foot but down 3-1 after four, the momemtum was all in Link’s favour. A score of two and steal of two more ended the game after 6 ends.

Deprez will have two more chances to qualify for the playoffs as the Stonewall team will drop to the “B” final and if necessary, the “C” final.

(7PM: Friday, Nov. 5) LINK-DEPREZ TO PLAY FIRST SENIOR WOMEN’S Q-GAME…..Kim Link and her East St. Paul team will play Laurie Deprez and her Stonewall team in the first qualifying game at the Manitoba Senior Women’s Championship. The game is set for 4PM Saturday.

Deprez skipped the 2012 champion team while Link was skip of the 2015 and 2018 champions.

Reigning champion Terry Ursel, who skipped the 2019 and 2020 champion teams, lost her opening game Friday afternoon to Deprez.

(11 AM: Friday, Nov. 5) FORMER CHAMPS WIN SENIOR WOMEN’S OPENERS…..Laurie Deprez’s Stonewall team scored a big five coming home for a come from behind win over Brenda Michel (Granite).

A former champ win was assured between Kim Link (East St.Paul) and Sandra Cowling (Hamiota). This time it was Link who prevailed with an 8-3 win.

And Charleswood’s Maureen Bonar, a former Manitoba-Canadian-World champion (with Lois Fowler) was a 6-3 winner over Norma Purdy (St. Vital). Bonar’s lead, Deb McCreanor, skipped the winners a week ago at the Club Champions event in Brandon so she is looking for two championships in a ten-day period.

Reigning champion Terry Ursel and her Hamiota team had the first draw bye in the seven team event.