Canadian men and women remain undefeated at World Seniors

Canadian teams skipped by Alan O’Leary and Lois Fowler remain undefeated after two days of round-robin play at the World Senior Curling Championships in Sochi, Russia
Lois Fowler in action at the 2015 World Senior Curling Championships in Sochi, Russia (WCF/Céline Stucki Photo)

Lois Fowler in action at the 2015 World Senior Curling Championships in Sochi, Russia (WCF/Céline Stucki Photo)

Fowler and her team from Brandon, Man., which includes third Maureen Bonar, second Cathy Gauthier and lead Allyson Stewart and coach Bill Tschirhart, overwhelmed New Zealand’s Wendy Becker with steals in the second and third ends to lead 5-1 at the break. In the fifth, Fowler took four points to put the game out of reach. The 11-1 win leaves the Canadian women with a 2-0 record, tied with the United States at the top of Pool B. “That was a nice win,” said Fowler. “There was a frost element out there tonight. You really had to be careful where you were playing and you certainly needed to have good rotation on the stones or it would cost you.” On the men’s side, O’Leary and his Halifax team of third Andrew Dauphinee, second Danny Christianson, lead Harold McCarthy and coach Tschirhart scored four with hammer in the first end, then went on to steal the next five ends for a 12-0 win over Kazakhstan’s Viktor Kim in their first game of the day. In his second game of the day, O’Leary got off to another quick start against Czech Republic’s Matej Neznal, scoring three in the first end and stealing a single in the second. With a 5-1 lead after four, the Canadians kept it simple and finished with a 5-2 win. “We adapted well and we’re getting more comfortable with the ice with each game,” said O’Leary afterwards. “The boys stayed on top of every end and we made them chase us. All round, that was our best game so far.” Monday is a quiet day for both Canadian teams. The men will play Japan’s Masaysu Sato in their only match (1 p.m. ET) and the women have no games scheduled. The round-robin draws for the World Seniors will run through to April 23 before the playoffs get underway. There are 24 senior men’s teams, split into three eight-team pools (one nine-team pool, two eight-team pools) and 13 senior women’s teams, split into two pools (one seven-team pool, one six-team pool). On April 24, the senior men’s and women’s gold-medal and bronze-medal games are scheduled for 6 a.m. Eastern. For live scores and standings from the World Seniors Championship, go to: wscc2015.curlingevents.com/.