OCAA CURLERS TARGET NATIONAL CROWN

PETERBOROUGH, Ont. - Curlers from the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) will take to the national stage this week in Peterborough, Ont. as Fleming College hosts the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Curling Invitational Championship.

OCAA schools will compete against teams from Alberta and the Maritimes for the chance to be named national champions. This marks the first CCAA curling national championship since 1990.

Sault College made history last month winning both the OCAA men's and women's curling titles, and will headline a strong field of OCAA teams. The Sault men's team consists of skip Nick Dawson, vice Brett Punkari, second Stephane Beaulieu, lead Mark Dugas and spare Mathius Neujahr (Whitby, Ont.). All but Neujahr are from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

Skip Jessica Merrifield (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.), vice Michelle MacLeod (Iroquois Falls, Ont.), second Kelly Gibson (Timmins, Ont.), lead Jodie Gillespie (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) and spare Laura Lehto (Sudbury, Ont.) make up the Sault women's team that struck OCAA gold.

OCAA men's and women's silver and bronze medal teams will also compete in Peterborough. First-team all-star skip Chris Jay (Point Edward, Ont.) leads Fanshawe's silver medal men's team, while Falcons teammate Chantel Lalonde (Ajax, Ont.) will skip the bronze medal women's team.

Humber's silver medalist women's team will be led by first-team all-star skip Laura Hickey (North York, Ont.), while second-team all-star skip Alex Elliot (Markham, Ont.) of championship host Fleming will lead the men's bronze medalist Knights.

Other OCAA men's teams competing this week include Humber and St. Clair. Fleming, Mohawk and Seneca will enter women's teams.

The bonspiel begins at the Peterborough Curling Club on Wednesday and concludes on Saturday.

Championship Website: www.flemingathletics.ca/ccaacurling

With files from Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association

- OCAA -

ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is a recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 31 members sponsoring 16 league and tournament championships.

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Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
Fax: 416-426-7308
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com