After reaching the semifinals a year ago, Robyn Silvernagle is eager to pick up right where she left off at the women鈥檚 provincial curling playdowns.
Silvernagle鈥檚 Twin Rivers Curling Club rink, which features third Dayna Demers, second Cristina Goertzen and lead Kara Thevenot, will be battling it out with eight other rinks in Melville Tuesday at the Viterra Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
鈥淭o make it to the playoffs last year was a great experience for us,鈥� Silvernagle said. 鈥淚t was great for us to learn things like how to control your nerves when you get to the playoffs, wearing microphones in a televised game and getting used to playing in front of a big crowd, especially when they are right on the ice with you as that鈥檚 something you don鈥檛 usually see on the cashspiel circuit.
鈥淭he main thing that we focus on though is just playing our game and not getting distracted by what鈥檚 going on around you, especially when everyone gets into a groove.鈥�
At last year鈥檚 playdowns in Prince Albert, Silvernagle finished in first place in Pool B with a 4-1 round-robin record.
She lost a 5-4 affair in the 1 vs. 2 Page playoff game to Stefanie Lawton and was knocked out of the provincials by a score of 6-4 to eventual champion Jolene Campbell in the semifinal.
With her team staying intact during the off-season, Silvernagle built off of her provincial success with a strong showing at a number of World Curling Tour events.
She had a semifinal finish in Saskatoon and reached the quarter-finals at bonspiels in Lloydminster, Red Deer and St. Paul, Minn.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not very often that I鈥檝e been with the same group of girls during back-to-back years,鈥� Silvernagle said. 鈥淎s a result, we鈥檝e been able to build off of the chemistry that we had last year.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all pretty good friends off the ice as well. Cristina and I have curled together off and on for the last 10 years, Dayna and I travel a lot together and Kara fit right in when she joined us last year鈥�
Thanks to their strong play, Silvernagle鈥檚 rink earned enough points in the Canadian Team Ranking System to earn an automatic berth into the provincial playdowns.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great feeling to get that monkey off of your back early and not have to worry about going through the last chance events,鈥� Silvernagle said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been able to practice quite a bit and we were lucky enough to play at a bonspiel in Saskatoon a couple of weeks ago. We really feel like we鈥檙e right at our peak right now.鈥�
This year鈥檚 provincials, which wraps up Sunday, will feature a slightly different format.
With only nine teams competing instead of 12, there will be a straight up round-robin competition with the top four teams advancing to the playoffs.
鈥淗aving those eight games in a short amount of time is a good thing as it helps to prepare your team for what you can expect when you go to the Scotties,鈥� Silvernagle said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e played a lot of games this year at many of the events we鈥檝e gone to, so I feel like we鈥檙e ready for that challenge.鈥�
Silvernagle鈥檚 first game will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday against Saskatoon鈥檚 Sherry Anderson.
Also in the field are Lawton, Biggar鈥檚 Brett Barber, Moose Jaw鈥檚 Penny Barker, Regina鈥檚 Chantelle Eberle, Kornau鈥檚 Kim Schneider, Saskatoon鈥檚 Nancy Martin and Balgonie鈥檚 Mandy Selzer.
There will be a new provincial champion this year as Campbell鈥檚 Regina-based rink failed to qualify for the playdowns.
The winner will go on to represent Saskatchewan at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in St. Catharines, Ont. from Feb. 16 to 26.
