Chaelynn Kitz and Brayden Stewart began their mixed double curling season this past weekend. The dynamic duo competed at the Leduc Mixed Doubles Event on the Alberta Curling Circuit. The teams first mixed doubles event together in about one year.
The bonspiel began on Friday for Kitz and Stewart when the pair battled the team of Sherry Just and Ryan Deis in an all Saskatchewan matchup. The game started with Kitz and Stewart scoring singles in the opening two ends before Just/Deis put up three in three to go up by one point. The lead was short lived, Kitz/Stewart scored one in the fourth and stole two in five to take a 5-3 lead after five ends of play. In the sixth Just/Deis scored one point to make it a 5-4 game. That was as close as they would come. Team Kitz/Stewart win 8-4. This was the seventh time Kitz has met Just. Chaelynn Kitz has now won four times and leads the all time series four games to three.
Up next the tandem took on Lisa Parent and Tyler Powell. Kitz/Stewart scores early and often in this contest. Two in the first, two in the second, three in the fourth and three more in the eighth. Kitz/Stewart win 10-6 to finish day one unbeaten. They moved on to the A-event final against Laura Walker and Kirk Muyres, one of the nations powerhouse teams.
The game started off good for Kitz and Stewart as they took a 2-0 lead after the first end but Walker/Muyres responded with as Vic Rauter would say “Count em up 1,2,3,4,5!” In the second they would add one more in the third to take a 6-2 lead. Team Kitz/Stewart would trim the deficit to one but Walker/Muyres scored three more in the sixth and it was all but over at that point. Walker/Muyres win 9-7 to hand Kitz/Stewart their first loss and send them to the “B” event.
Kitz and Stewart would face off against another Walker next, Laura’s husband Geoff and his partner Taylor McDonald. The game was a back and forth contest. The teams would trade singles through the first four ends then deuces in five and six. The match was tied at six through six. The point matching would continue in seven and eight. It was tied at five through eight and required extra ends. McDonald and Walker had the hammer in the extra end therefore if Kitz/Stewart were going to win they would need to steal, unfortunately for Stewart and Kitz Leduc law enforcement did not need to be called. McDonald and Walker used the hammer in the extra end to score two and win the game 7-5. The loss put Kitz/Stewart on the brink of elimination. They must win the “C” event final in order to stay alive.
The team would take on Brittany Tran and Aaron Sluchinski in a do or die contest. The winning team advances, the loser goes home. It was not a good start for Kitz/Stewart; they trailed 1-0 early but quickly rebounded and scored two in two and led by one heading into the third end. Tran/Sluchinski scored two in three, one in four to grab a four two advantage. In the fifth end Kitz/Stewart put up three points to take a 5-4 lead after five ends. The lead was short lived and was the last one Kitz/Stewart would have on the weekend. Tran/Sluchinski scored two points in both the sixth and seventh ends to go up 8-5. There were no points scored in the eighth. Team Kitz/Stewart lose 8-5 and have been eliminated. They played five games and finished with a record of two wins and three losses.
It was not the ending they had hoped for but all in all it was a successful return to the ice for Kitz/Stewart. “It is good to be back,” Stewart says. “Tough losing each qualifier. We played well enough to win both the A and B qualifiers but just had some tough breaks and games slipped away from us. The C qualifier, I wasn’t good enough to win.” For Stewart this was his first event in almost a year. Kitz competes at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (with team Sherry Anderson) as well as the Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship with fill-in partner Kyler Kleibrink. Stewart was unavailable to compete due to a work commitment.
The weekend started well for Kitz and Stewart,winning their first two but then dropped their next three contests. Despite being eliminated in the C event final and failing to reach the playoff round. The team is optimistic for the rest of the season and excited to be back competing. The next mixed doubles event for team Kitz/Stewart will be the Aly Jenkins Memorial tournament in Martensville from September 17-19. The points earned at that event go towards qualification for the Olympic trials, with the top team earning an automatic berth to the Olympic trials in Portage La Prairie Manitoba December 28-January 2nd.
Photos courtesy of the Kitz/Stewart Facebook page
