Silvernagle wins second straight Scotties provincial title

Robyn Silvernagle has repeated as Saskatchewan’s women’s curling champion — and this time she actually witnessed the final shot of the game.

“I had to throw (the final rock) for one. Last year, I was just waiting so that was the hardest time,” Silvernagle said Tuesday after her rink’s 8-5 win over Sherry Anderson’s team in the Viterra Scotties final at the Horizon Credit Union Centre in Melville.

“Last year, I think because I lost the two finals before it was really, really special to finally win. So this year it was like win or lose, you know that the sun comes up tomorrow. It’s just as sweet (as last year’s) just because (the Scotties Tournament of Hearts) is in Moose Jaw.”

Silvernagle and her North Battleford team of Stefanie Lawton, Jessie Hunkin and Kara Thevenot won their second straight provincial title Tuesday. They also defeated Anderson’s rink in Humboldt in 2019.

“Each time you play somebody, you learn things and you gain that experience,” Silvernagle said. “We definitely gained a lot of experience just playing in the finals. Once (you’ve won) — we lost the two years before that — but that’s still experience that we’ve taken forward every year.”

The last back-to-back champion in Saskatchewan was Lawton, who won titles in 2014 and 2015 when she skipped her own team.

With the victory Tuesday, Silvernagle earned the right to represent Saskatchewan in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The Canadian women’s curling championship tournament is slated for Feb. 15-23 at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw.

After a blank in the first end Tuesday, Silvernagle scored one in the second. Anderson put up a deuce in the third, but Silvernagle replied with three in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead.

Anderson scored one in the fifth to cut the deficit to 4-3. After a blank in the sixth end, Silvernagle recorded one point in the seventh and stole one in the eighth to go up 6-3.

Anderson recorded a deuce in the ninth to make it 6-5, but Silvernagle made a double takeout in the 10th to score two and wrap up the title.

Anderson, who was trying to win her sixth provincial title as a skip, was backed by Nancy Martin, Meaghan Frerichs and Chaelynn Kitz.

Heading to Moose Jaw will actually be familiar territory for Lawton; she was the skip for Team Saskatchewan when the tournament was held there in 2015. Anderson was the third on that team.

Lawton said her advice to the team is to live in the moment.

“Enjoy it because it’s so much fun. Just to go out there and when you step out onto the ice and the crowd goes wild, you get goosebumps going and it’s just something to take it all in because you don’t get that opportunity very often,” Lawton said.

Silvernagle and her team will also have the memory of Aly Jenkins on their minds and in their hearts. Jenkins, who was a member of Anderson’s team, died in October due to complications during the birth of her third child.

Lawton, who has two children of her own, said she thought a lot about Jenkins during the season.

“We think about her a lot and she means a lot to the curling world,” Lawton said while trying to fight back tears. “We’ll be thinking about her and working our hardest to represent Saskatchewan very well (at the Scotties), because of her.”

Silvernagle’s team wound up with the bronze medal at the 2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

“This year will be even more incredible,” Silvernagle said. “It’s pretty cool to have so many fans and just (having the tournament be) accessible for so many fans to get to. (Last year) we still had a good group but it was all family, so this year will be so many more people.”

Silvernagle doesn’t expect any added pressure despite a large contingent of Saskatchewan supporters at the tournament in Moose Jaw.

“We thrive on the crowds,” she said. “We made all our fans bring cowbells — we love that. I feel like you might have more pressure being a defending champion over being in your home province.”