Kim Link and her East St. Paul teammates Colleen Kilgallen, Karen Fallis, Renee Fletcher, and fifth Lynn Fallis -Kurz have won the 2021 CurlManitoba Senior Women’s Championship.
Link, who won her third Manitoba Senior Women’s title, defeated Norma Purdy of St. Vital (Patti Ulrich, Marlene Lang, Gwen Wooley and fifth Nicole Goshawk) 7-4 Monday afternoon at Pembina.
Leading 6-4 playing the seventh end, Link was able to get a rock behind cover in the four foot, forcing Purdy to draw full to the four foot circle. The draw was just heavy and Link stole a point to lead 7-4 coming home. Link ended the game with a double kill on her first rock of that eighth end.
Link had earned the triple knockout event’s “A” playoff spot and a bye to the final. Her three preliminary round games were all victories over former champions; Sandra Cowling, Maureen Bonar, and Laurie Deprez.
Purdy qualified for the playoffs through the last-chance “C” event and played Maureen Bonar’s Charleswood team, which was skipped by Joelle Brown, in the semi-final. Purdy had lost two previous games during the championship to the Bonar team but it was third time lucky as the St. Vital foursome scored a 7-5 victory to advance to the final game.
Link previously skipped the Manitoba Senior Women’s champions in 2015 and 2018. She was joined both times by second Karen Fallis, who threw third on each of the earlier champion teams. This year’s lead Renee Fletcher and fifth Lynn Fallis-Kurz were members of the 2018 team.
For third Colleen Kilgallen, the 2021 championship is her first Manitoba curling title.
The champions will have the opportunity to represent Manitoba at the Everest Canadian Senior Championships December 6-11 in Sault Ste. Marie.
