CREDIT: COURTESY OF FANSHAWE ATHLETICS
Fanshawe's women curling team finished the season with another gold medal win at the CCAA national championships. This is the team's third gold in four years.

Fanshawe College’s women’s curling team won the gold at the 2015 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national championships on March 28 in Olds, Alberta, while the men’s team won the silver.

The women’s team defeated Humber College 4-2 for the gold after finishing in a three-way tie with Humber and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology for the first place in the round robin with a record of 5-2.

The Falcons defeated the NAIT Ooks to face Humber for the gold. It is the team’s third gold in four years, having also won the 2012 and 2013 championships.

“Winning the Gold Medal at the CCAA National Curling Championships is a dream come true,” said skip Shannon Kee in an email. “Our team worked very hard this season and it feels amazing to see it all pay off.”

The team was made up of Kee, vice Rachelle Vink, second Christina Borgs, lead Tess Bobbie and alternate Julie Clinton. Kee, Vink and Borgs were named Championship All-Stars.

“Being named All Star Skip was an amazing achievement and I am honoured,” Kee said.

Head Coach Barry Westman was awarded the women’s coach award.

“That’s just the icing on the cake,” he said. “The accomplishment of the kids is the most importing thing.”

The Falcons’ men’s team placed second at the championships, losing the finals 8-4 to Fleming College’s Knights.

The team started the round robin with a record of 1-3 but won the following three games, finishing 4-3 and earning them a spot in a tiebreaker playoff game. It defeated Olds College 5-4 and the CCAA defending champions, MacEwan University, 11-8 in the semifinals.

The team was made up of skip Kelly Schuh, vice Curtis Easter, second Jackson Cox, lead/alternate Billy Brian and lead/alternate Matt Pretty.

“Looking back now, it’s just so incredible that we were able to do that,” Easter said. “It’s quite the accomplishment, and we’re all very proud of it.”

The women’s team placed at the national championships after defeating the Humber Hawks 8-6 in February for the gold at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association provincial championships. The team was also crowned OCAA provincial champions in 2014 and 2013.

“Our team is extremely proud of what we accomplished this year winning both the provincial and national title this year,” Vink said in an email. “We are only the fourth team to ever accomplish this so it feels great.”

The men’s team placed third at the provincial championships, losing 6-3 to the Knights.

Fanshawe will be hosting the 2016 CCCAA national curling championships in March at the Highland Curling Club.

“It was an awesome experience,” Kee said. “I am very excited to host the CCAA Championships nexy year.”