Sherry Middaugh and her team have been solid all season and look to be the favourites heading into the 2015 Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts, starting Monday night in Penetanguishene, Ont.
Team Middaugh enters the event ranked second among Ontario-based teams on the World Curling Tour’s order of merit list and ninth overall.
Middaugh has won two tournaments on tour this season — the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic and the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard — and qualified for the playoffs at the Masters and Canadian Open Grand Slam events. The only Ontario team that has overshadowed them on tour this season is Rachel Homan’s squad, but the Ottawa rink has an automatic berth to the national Scotties as Team Canada.
Middaugh, a five-time Ontario champion, lives in nearby Victoria Harbour, about 20 minutes from the Penentanguishene Curling Club. She also plays at the venue Tuesday nights with her husband Wayne in the Major Curling League. Home-ice advantage could play in her favour.
Watch the round robin of the Ontario Scotties live on Rogers TV starting with Draw 1 action Monday night at 7 p.m. ET. Coverage begins on Sportsnet with the semifinal Sunday at 10:30 a.m. ET
Looking to upstage Middaugh will be Allison Flaxey, who captured her first career Ontario Scotties title a year ago and now looks to win No. 2. The Listowel, Ont., rink hasn’t been as active as Team Middaugh on tour but they scored an impressive 6-1 victory over Olympic champions Team Jennifer Jones to kick off the Masters tournament in November showing they’re capable of taking down the best of the best. Flaxey has a new second this season in Kristen Foster, who finished third at the national Scotties last year representing Manitoba.
Don’t count out Team Julie Hastings either. The Thornhill, Ont., rink had a strong run at the Ontario Scotties a year ago finishing the round robin tied for first with a 7-2 record. Hastings beat Flaxey in the 1-vs-2 page playoff game before falling in the rematch during the final.
Team Hastings have also picked up a pair of titles on tour this year: the KW Fall Classic and the Stroud Sleeman Cash Spiel, where they defeated Middaugh in the final no less. Some cause for concern could be that they needed to clinch a spot out of the last-chance Challenge Round but they should find their groove again during the championship tournament.
Skips Megan Balsdon, Clancy Grandy, Jacqueline Harrison, Danielle Inglis, Shannon Kee, Caitlin Romain and Rhonda Varnes round out the 10-team field.
Missing from this year’s tournament are teams from Northern Ontario as the region will begin sending its own representative to the Canadian Scotties. Tracy Horgan, the 2012 Ontario champ, claimed the Northern Ontario berth Saturday night but the Sudbury native will have to compete in an additional pre-qualifying tournament against teams from Nunavut, Yukon and the Northwest Territories for the final spot in the national championship event.
