Bridesmaids no more
[With files from Curling Canada]
Three Canadian mixed doubles titans advanced into the semifinals of this year’s championship—along with a pairing of Saskatchewan siblings—and the eventual winners were the only titans who had yet to win the national crown.
Kadriana and Colton Lott defeated the top-ranked duo of Laura Walker and Kirk Muyres 7-5 at Fredericton in a stunning finish—a measurement following the last shot in the eighth and final end.
After Walker’s last throw—an attempt at a triple takeout—just missed the mark, the remaining stones were measured twice, giving the Lotts the win ... if only by a millimetre.
“Before he put the stick to it, I was pretty confident,” said Colton Lott. “But then he put the stick to it, and it was really close. I thought it was us, but just barely… by less than a tick. I looked at Kadriana and gave her the ‘I think it’s us’ look – and then he went around again.”
“I couldn’t even look,” said Kadriana. “I was standing back trying to keep myself busy. I didn’t even want to look at his expression. You’re either playing another end, or you’re winning.”
As it turned out, they won.
Walker and Muyres opened the game with two steals, jumping into a 3-0 lead. The Manitoba champs came back with a three-point end in the third, and then put together a great chance to steal in the fourth.
Walker, however, made an incredible runback double takeout to score a point. After trading singles in the fifth and sixth, Team Lott put the power play to good use in the seventh end and scored two, giving them a 6-5 lead.
After Walker’s last triple attempt just missed in the eighth end, the measurement confirmed the victory for the Lotts, their first title victory in their third trip to the national championship final.
“This is an unbelievable feeling,” said Colton Lott. “To do it with Kadriana is just really special. Having falling short a couple times in the finals … it’s just special.”
Lott had also lost the 2023 Brier final with his men’s team skipped by Matt Dunstone.
The win comes with a $35,000 payday and a trip to the World Championship in Ostersund, Sweden next month as Team Canada.
Walker and Muyres, who beat the Lotts in the final of the 2018 championship, took home $20,000 for their silver medal finish. Both teams, and bronze medalists Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, will qualify for the Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials, which will crown Canada’s 2026 Olympic team.
Peterman/Gallant defeated the Kleiter siblings, Madison and Rylan, 6-3 to finish third. The former champs had lost their semifinal 8-4 to the Lotts, while Walker/Muyres defeated the Kleiters 8-6 in their semi.
Walker/Muyers won their quarterfinal 7-6 over Team Alberta’s Amanda and Aaron Sluchinski, while the Kleiters dispatched British Columbia’s Taylor Reese-Hansen and Corey Chester by a 7-5 count in their quarterfinal match.
Other quarterfinal results saw Peterman/Gallant defeat Edmonton’s Paige Papley and Evan Van Amsterdam 7-5, while the Lotts scored an 11-3 win over Saskatchewan’s Nancy Martin and Steve Laycock.
The bronze-medal pair earned $17,000 and the fourth-place squad $14,000. The losing quarterfinalists earned $10,000 each in prize money.
The final four have been whittled down from a 32-team competition earlier in the week, which saw 12 teams qualify for the playoffs.