Scotties debut a ‘dream come true’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/02/2021 (1444 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mackenzie Zacharias suspected her eyes of playing tricks on her, even though the bright, bold image was there at the top of her computer screen.

The 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts page of the Curling Canada website features a collage of photographs of some of the nation’s finest skips. The young Altona curler — seemingly locked and loaded to make a critical shot — is among the handful of luminaries, including the reigning champion, a former world champion and an Olympic gold medallist.

Indeed, Zacharias is on the marquee for the Canadian women’s curling championship, set to begin Friday night in Calgary.

“When I saw it for the first time, I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m up there with Jennifer Jones, Suzanne Birt, Kerri Einarson and Rachel Homan, all incredibly talented and accomplished curlers,” Zacharias, who skipped the team to the 2020 world junior women’s crown, said recently. “I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I was like, ‘Why me?’

“I guess they’re kind of using us as headliners for the Scotties as well, as young players going into their first Scotties. But it’s pretty amazing to be on the front page of the website. It’s still kind of hard to believe we’re actually going. It’s pretty much a dream come true for all of us. “

Zacharias and her teammates, third Karlee Burgess, second (and sister) Emily Zacharias and lead Lauren Lenentine, will make their Scotties debuts inside Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park.

But the drawmaster hasn’t safeguarded them from a challenging inauguration Friday, pitting the Scotties rookies, seeded eighth, against the Einarson team from Gimli, the top seed and defending champion, in a Pool A clash of provincial rivals on the opening draw (7:30 p.m. CT).

“Getting to play Kerri that first game is going to be incredibly exciting. They’re probably putting that one on TV. I think we’re really excited to see what could happen in that one,” said Mackenzie, 21, a fourth-year kinesiology student at the University of Manitoba. “Everyone’s going to have to find their footing, because nobody’s played in so long. All of us are going to play our hearts out.”

The teams have just one previous meeting, with Einarson posting a win early at the 2019 Canad Inns Classic in Portage la Prairie.

“Funny enough, we were up by two points at the halfway point and feeling pretty good but we gave it up and they beat us. So, we’re looking forward to a bit of a rematch,” Mackenzie said.

The Zacharias squad earned its way into the expanded field as the No. 2 wild-card entry, determined by its 11th place standing on the Canadian Team Ranking System.

The story begins, however, about 18 months ago when the Zacharias sisters from southern Manitoba joined forced with Burgess and Lenentine, a pair of Maritimers, and set a course for the 2019-20 season. Their mission? Close out their junior careers in unforgettable fashion.

“We all had the same goal, win Canadian juniors and then go and win worlds, which we accomplished,” said Lenentine, 20, who hails from Charlottetown. “To agree to move (to Manitoba) and live with them and curl with them was a huge leap of faith, but I just knew we’d have a great team, and we all clicked from the get go.”

The foursome went 11-0 at the national championship in Langley, B.C., 13 months ago to claim gold and then left Russia four weeks later with a world title in tow.

Fast-forward to the fall and Zacharias was among only a few teams in the west to actually compete before COVID-19 health restrictions forced curling clubs to close their doors. Zacharias and Darcy Robertson of Assiniboine Memorial split bonspiel finals on back-to-back weekends (Morris and Winnipeg) in October.

Mackenzie is eager to find out if last year’s success carries over, despite a lengthy layoff.

“The key for us is trying to find the groove we were in at Canadian juniors and the worlds last year, and carry them over into the Scotties. It’s a super big event and we’re all really excited about it. We’re going to take everything into that first game, really go out there and have some fun and give it our all …we’re excited to see how fast we get it back,” she said.

Lenentine and the Zacharias sisters live together in Winnipeg and have been joined at the hip during the pandemic, while Burgess resides in Nova Scotia. Rachel Erickson, who was born in Brandon but raised in Maryfield, Sask., is the team’s fifth player, while Sheldon Zacharias, will coach his daughters’ crew.

Team preparedness came down to individual workout regiments and group Zoom chats.

“Keeping the six of us in the loop and trying to be ready as best as we can, but it’s tough to be totally prepared when you haven’t been on the ice much,” said Lenentine.

Added Emily: “It’s been mostly mental preparation, strategy, some sweeping drills and trying to prepare our bodies as much as possible. But we will be finding out in the moment during games how ready we are.”

The 19-year-old second believes youth and relative inexperience won’t be an issue.

“The whole experience since we joined together has been so surreal. We’ve done so much as a team already, so I don’t really think it’s a factor,” said Emily. “Since I was five, the dream has been to go to the Scotties, and so to be able to get this opportunity at this time in my life is absolutely incredible.”

Joining Zacharias in Pool A is Winnipeg’s Beth Peterson, the event’s third wild-card entry, also making its first Scotties appearance. The Assiniboine Memorial team, with third Jenna Loder, second Katherine Doerksen and lead Brittany Tran, is seeded ninth.

Cathy Overton-Clapham, one of Manitoba’s most decorated curlers, joins them in the Calgary bubble as fifth player. The former world champion and five-time Canadian champion coached the Peterson squad at the 2020 provincials.

“We had a few practices beforehand and I was a little bit star-struck,” Peterson said, earlier this week. “Cathy’s such a great player and she knows the game inside and out. We’re lucky to have her.”

Peterson kicks off the Scotties against Laura Eby of Yukon on Friday night, before meeting Einarson (Saturday) and Homan (Sunday).

“I don’t think it matters who we play that first game, there’s going to be nerves,” said Peterson. “I’m definitely aware of who we play our second and third games. We have big circles on the calendar around those one.

Gone from the event are the traditional opening and closing ceremonies, and interacting with fans. Players are also restricted to the rink and hotel only, eliminating any time for socializing or sight-seeing during their down time.

The focus is solely on what transpires on the ice.

“We’re fine with the restrictions to make it a safe environment for everyone involved,” said Peterson. “I’ve read on social media that some players are really going to miss the traditional Scotties, but we don’t know what that’s like. So, for us it will be a positive to just focus on curling and not realize what’s missing.

“The competitive athlete in me and my teammates, you always put some pressure on yourself. We definitely have goals. Maybe we go into this a little bit looser than some teams, but at the same time we want to perform, do our best and show we belong.”

 

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell