As a B.C. Scotties Tournament of Hearts rookie, Kesa Van Osch didn’t exactly expect to be challenging two-time Canadian and world champion Kelly Scott for first place, but that’s what she’s done this week in Prince George.
Van Osch, who’s from Nanaimo, and her Victoria Curling Centre team of Stephanie Baier, Jessie Sanderson and Carley Sandwith will play Scott in the final round-robin draw this morning to decide which team finishes in first place.
On Thursday, Van Osch defeated Patti Knezevic of Prince George 9-6 and Karla Thompson of Kamloops 4-3 to move to 7-1. Scott, of Kelowna, downed Thompson 7-3 and had a 6-4 victory over VCC’s Sarah Wark, who’s still in the playoff hunt, to also wind up at 7-1.
“It feels great,” Van Osch said, if a bit “weird” to be in the top position. A B.C. junior champion two years ago, she said the new team is trying to keep their perspective, and not think about winning it all. “We talked about it, and then we decided to put it away.
“We have to focus on our shots, and try to detach ourselves.”
Following any tiebreakers, the Page playoffs begin tonight between Van Osch and Scott as first- and second-place teams. The winner receives a bye into Sunday’s final, while the loser meets the winner of the three/four game in the semifinal on Saturday night.
The B.C. champion earns a trip to the national Scotties, Feb. 1-9 in Montreal.
The other two Victoria-based teams met in the early draw on Thursday and the young Shawna Jensen squad scored its first victory, downing Wark 7-5. Wark finished the day at 4-4, tied for third place with Thompson, Patti Knezevic of Prince George and Abbotsford’s Allison MacInnes. Marla Mallett, of Cloverdale, Tracey Jones, of Prince George, and Vancouver’s Amy Gibson were all at 3-5, while Jensen was 1-7.
For Jensen, a junior who never expected to qualify for women’s provincials, the week has been an uphill battle, but definitely something to build on for the future.
“It’s been really really tough. Everyone here is such high calibre,” the 19-year-old said. “It’s incredible the way you have slightly missed shots, and other teams jump all over you.”
The Jensen foursome has been competitive, but surrendering some big ends has hurt them. Jensen has realized her team needs to learn to miss shots the right way. “It all comes down to execution.”
So far, the Van Osch team has been executing their simple, wide open strategy to perfection. Now, they just want to keep moving forward.
“Each game we’re getting better, and that’s all you can ask for in a long competition like this,” she said.
