It wasn’t the best of weeks for Team Silvernagle at their first Grand Slam event of the 2019-20 season.
The North Battleford-based curling team missed out on playoff action at the Grand Slam of Curling Masters in North Bay, winning only one game before bowing out Friday.
The elimination punctuated a sad week for Saskatchewan curling fans following the news of the passing of Aly Jenkins, lead for the Sherry Anderson team, due to complications during childbirth at the age of 30.
The news has shaken the entire curling community. Robyn Silvernagle and her team had competed against Jenkins and Team Anderson to win the provincial title this year. A moment of silence for Jenkins took place Thursday.
The Masters event started Wednesday with a loss for Silvernagle against the Casey Scheidegger team, which was skipped by Amber Holland. The final score was 6-4.
But Silvernagle bounced back with a 7-4 comeback win over Kerri Einarson of Manitoba. Down 4-2 at one point, Team Silvernagle recorded steals in the last four ends to pull out the victory.
That game proved to be the high point of their entire tournament. The team lost the next contest with Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland 6-4. Needing a win to stay alive, Team Silvernagle then lost on Friday to the Edmonton team of Kelsey Rocque 5-3, with Rocque getting a final-end steal of one to win the game.
Team Silvernagle will try again in two weeks at the Grand Slam of Curling Tour Challenge Nov. 5-10 in Pictou County, Nova Scotia.
