Utica, NY. (March 12, 2017) – The University of Oklahoma Curling Team concluded the college curling season with the team’s first Top 10 finish at the 2017 Collegiate Curling National Championships in Utica, NY. The championships began with pool play where OU was slotted against Yale, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, and MIT. In OU’s first game against the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, the Sooners were able to overcome an early four-point deficit to Green Bay to force a tie at the end of regulation. However, Green Bay, with the hammer, was able to win in the 9th ending. The Sooners then faced the MIT Engineers. The Sooners jumped to a 4-0 lead after stealing four in the first end, with the Engineers responding by taking one in the second, third, fourth and fifth ends. With the game tied 4-4 at the end of the fifth end, OU was able to remove MIT’s rock in the 4 foot to secure two points in the 6th end, and stole two in the 7th end to regain the four point lead. OU was able to keep the house clean of stones in the 8th to secure the 8-4 victory. Oklahoma and Yale played in the last game of pool play. This marked the first time the two programs have ever played each other on the ice. The teams blanked the first end, and the Sooners stole two in the second end to take an early 2-0 lead. In the third, Oklahoma was able to force Yale to one. Yale responded by forcing the Sooners to only one in the fourth end, which gave OU a 3-1 lead heading into halftime. Yale rallied from their early deficit by scoring three in the fifth end to take their first lead of the game 4-3. Yale added to their score in the sixth end by stealing one putting the Sooners behind by two. Playing aggressively, the Sooners gave up three more points to Yale in the seventh. The Sooners were unable to recover from costly errors, and conceded in the 8th end for a final score of 7-3 in favor of the Bulldogs. Oklahoma’s effort secured them a spot in the tournament 3rd place bracket against Harvard University, Hamilton College, and Bowdoin College. Oklahoma and Hamilton previously met in the 2016 National Championship Playoff with Hamilton taking the first meeting. The game started with the Sooners taking one in the first end and Hamilton taking four in the second, putting the Sooners down by three entering the third end. OU responded by scoring four in the third and stealing one in the fourth to retake the lead 6-4. Hamilton scored one in the fifth and OU scored two more in the sixth to make the game 8-5 in favor of the Sooners. Hamilton rallied in the seventh to score three, which tied the game 8-8 going into the eighth and final end. The Sooners were able to place a biter at the top of the house early as their insurance rock, while Hamilton went to work placing center guards to steal the end. With the hammer, OU skip Noah Gordon faced two center guards with Hamilton’s shot rock slightly open at the back of the 4ft, and successfully preformed a hit and stick to win the game for the Sooners with a final of 10-8. OU moved on in the tournament to their first ever event final at collegiate nationals to face Harvard who, in similar fashion, won their game in the eighth end after being tied in the seventh against Bowdoin College. The game began with OU having offensive troubles. Harvard successfully stole one in each of the first four ends to take a 4-0 lead at the half. The Sooners came roaring back in the fifth end with four of their own to tie the game 4-4. Harvard, with the hammer, was able to take three in the sixth and stole one in the seventh to regain a four-point advantage. The Sooners were able to keep stones in play for the majority of the eighth end, but shook after the Sooner’s seventh stone rolled out of the house on an attempted takeout. The OU Curling Team finished as the 4th Place Runner-ups and in the final Top 10. Overall, the 2016-17 season marked the best year in the program’s history. During the course of the year, the Sooners won two college bonspiel championships, compiled thirty-seven wins, and accumulated seventy-two US Curling Association Collegiate Merit points, while traveling over 9,800 miles – all OU Curling records. University of Oklahoma v. Hamilton CollegeComments are closed.
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September 2017
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