It proved to be a weekend of close calls back on home ice for Cody Tanaka at the Lower Mainland Men’s Curling Playdowns, hosting by the Tunnel Town Curling Club.
The former Tunnel Town junior standout and South Delta Secondary graduate’s Richmond Curling Club entry was one of 11 rinks competing for three berths into next month’s provincial championships in Quesnel.
Tanaka was coming off a busy November that saw him help an RCC team capture the Canadian Club Challenge in New Brunswick and also skip a B.C. rink at the Canadian Mixed Championships in Winnipeg.
His team got off to an impressive start in Tsawwassen, producing victories over Cloverdale’s Brad Rebman (8-2) and Golden Ears’ Dean Joanisse on Friday to secure a spot in Saturday’s “A” Event final. Tanaka made a big comeback against Joanisse, scoring four in the ninth end to erase a 5-4 deficit against the two-time former B.C. champion.
Tanaka’s first opportunity at nailing down a B.C. berth ended with a a 6-2 loss to Daniel Wenzek. The Langley rink took control with three in the sixth.
It was then off to the “B” Event semi-finals later that afternoon and a rematch with Joanisse.
This time, his team fell behind 4-1 in the early going and surrendered five more over the final two ends in a 9-3 defeat. Joanisse went on to win the “B” Event.
Tanaka still had one more shot in the “C” Event and opened up play Sunday morning with a 7-5 win over Abbotsford’s Dayne Gagnon. However, the B.C. bid ended with a 6-4 semi-final defeat to Stephen Schneider in an all-RCC match-up.
Schneider went on to fall to Royal City’s Tyler Klymchuk.
Tunnel Town was also hosting the Women’s Open Playdowns that offered two spots to the provincials and featured nine teams.
Among the participants was Delta Thistle standout Sarah Daniels — a two time provincial junior champion and national runner-up.
Her rink will also be heading to Vernon next week for the B.C. Junior Championships.
Daniels also got off to a promising start in Tsawwassen with wins over Royal City’s Kaye Gyles (9-1) and Kamloops’ Karla Thompson (6-5) to advance to the “A” Event semi-final. Vancouver’s Lindsay Hudyma opened up a commanding 9-0 lead and cruised to an 11-0 victory in just four ends.
Daniels looked to rebound in the “B” Event semis but fell behind 4-2 after three and never could battle back in a 10-7 loss to Kelowna’s Brette Richards.
Vernon’s Kim Slattery won the “A” Event while Hudmya captured the “B” Event.
