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Brent Gedak qualifies for the SaskTel Tankard

Brent Gedak is heading back to the SaskTel Tankard provincial men’s curling championship. Gedak claimed the birth through the Saskatchewan Curling Tour (SCT) overall standings. The 2019 Tankard will be Feb. 6-10 in Whitewood.
Brent Gedak pic

Brent Gedak is heading back to the SaskTel Tankard provincial men’s curling championship.

Gedak claimed the birth through the Saskatchewan Curling Tour (SCT) overall standings. The 2019 Tankard will be Feb. 6-10 in Whitewood.

Gedak finished third in the overall standings for the tour with 20 points, thanks to taking top spot at an event in Moose Jaw, and reaching the semifinals of the Regina Highland event and the Players Championship in Swift Current.

The event in Moose Jaw did not result in an automatic spot in provincials, unlike some other events, but it still carried points that Gedak used for provincials.

Kody Hartung and Bruce Korte finished ahead of Gedak in the SCT standings, but they had already qualified for the Tankard based on winning qualifier events, so Gedak punched his ticket for provincials by having the next-most points.

He also avoided having to compete in the southern men’s playdowns later this month.

Gedak’s most recent event was the players championship in Swift Current from Jan. 4-6.

He opened the tournament with a 7-4 victory over Carson Ackerman, and a 6-2, six-end victory over Brock Virtue. Two close losses followed, 5-4 to Hartung and 6-5 to Scott Comfort.

Relegated to the C event, and facing elimination, Gedak responded with a 4-1 win over Michael Carss to reach the playoff round.

In the playoffs, Gedak upset Josh Heidt 7-2; Heidt went undefeated in the draw to claim one of the top two seeds. But Gedak scored five in the fourth end to take over a game that Heidt led 2-1, and then stole one in the fifth, forcing Heidt to concede the match.

Gedak’s tournament came to an end in a 7-5 loss to Ryan Deis in the semifinal.

Other members of his rink are third Jason Ackerman, second Derek Owens and lead Curtis Horwath.

Bob Doerr is their coach.

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Two women’s teams from southeast Saskatchewan rinks came up short in their bids to qualify for the Viterra Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial women’s curling tournament.

A last chance event was held in Shaunavon from Jan. 4-6. The Rae Williamson rink, with third Alexandra Meyer, second Leah Moriarty and lead Jessica Thompson, was curling out of the Estevan Curling Club.

The Candace Chisholm rink, with fourth Joni Wielgoz, third Candace Chisholm, second Natalie Bloomfield and lead Kristy Johnson, competed out of the Carlyle Curling Club.

Williamson opened the competition with a 9-8 loss to Wendy Theines. They responded with a pair of victories, 8-5 over Brett Barber and 11-8 over Mandy Selzer.

Their hope of qualifying for provincials ended in an 8-6 loss to Chisholm.

Chisholm’s rink opened strong, scoring 11 points in the first five ends in an 11-1 win over Thienes. But their next game saw them give up five points in the eighth end in a 12-3 loss to former national champion Amber Holland.

After the win over the Williamson rink, the Chisholm rink’s bid for a trip to provincials came to an end in a 9-7 loss to Kourtney Fesser.