CREDIT: FANSHAWE ATHLETICS
Jordan Ariss skipped the women’s curling team to a bronze medal at the OCAA championships.

Fanshawe's women's curling team is heading to the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association National Championships in Edmonton after grasping third place in this year's Ontario Colleges Athletic Association Championship held in St. Thomas from February 15 to 17.

The team played fantastically in the round robin, going undefeated with a 4-0 record against Sault, Mohawk, Algoma and Fleming.

On February 17, they suffered a disappointing semi-final loss against Niagara College.

“We played about a month ago in a tournament hosted by Humber and it wasn't challenging. It turns out this was a lot more challenging — a lot more challenging,” said skip Jordan Ariss. “They played outstanding; the skip didn't miss a shot until the second last end.”

The game went into an extra end, and Niagara came out on top.

Ariss admitted it was a tough game to get through, “It was super close; it was heartbreaking — like an inch or two away from making the shot.”

Fanshawe headed into the bronze medal matchup against Mohawk. “We handled that game a lot better than the round robin game against them,” said Ariss. “We won handily in six ends so it was great to medal again and know we're off to Nationals in Edmonton.”

Ariss was named First Team All Star along with her teammate Kaitlyn Knipe.

Ariss said she was honoured, “I knew we were playing consistently, but I didn't know how good it was, so that was really nice.”

The team will continue to practice and play their league games before heading to the CCAA Championships on March 21.

Ariss said the team is a tight-knit group that is very dedicated, “I know even if we don't practice together, we do our best to practice back home at our own clubs and whatnot just to get more consistent. We're all good curlers; at this level it's just consistency that will make the difference in the long run.”

Teammate Yvonne Lalonde is confident in the squad as they head into Nationals. “I think we're going to do well because we have the coaching, we have the athleticism that you need to do well and we're like a big family.”