Winter Universiade Team Canada roundup & results

ERZURUM, Turkey (CIS) – Canadian athletes continued competition in curling, hockey, alpine skiing, cross country skiing and snowboarding on Thursday at the 25th Winter Universiade in Erzurum, Turkey.

Team Canada website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/winter
2011 Winter Universiade website: http://www.erzurum2011.gov.tr/english
 
In men’s curling, the World University Games tournament came to an abrupt end for the Queen’s University rink led by skip Jon Beuk of Kingston, Ont. Tied with the Czech Republic after round-robin play with a 6-3 record, Canada fell 11-7 to the Czechs in a tie-breaker match for a spot in the semifinals, and ended up fifth overall.
 
The Canadians jumped in front with a point in the first end but saw their rivals respond with three points in the second. With the game tied at 4-4 after five, the Czech Republic scored four in the sixth to take a commanding 8-4 lead, but the Canadians came back to within one with two points in the seventh end and one in the eighth.
 
The ninth end proved fatal to Beuk’s rink however as the Czechs sealed the victory with three points.
 
After claiming gold in 2003 when curling made its Universiade debut, the Canadian men had finished sixth in 2007 and 2009. The sport wasn’t part of the program at the 2005 Games.
 
With women’s rink also finishing out of medal contention in Erzurum – in sixth place - it marks the first time both Canadian teams fail to reach the podium at the same FISU Games. The Canadian women had captured gold in 2007 and silver in 2009.
 
In men’s hockey, it was a better day for Canada as the all-star team from Ontario University Athletics advanced to the semifinals thanks to a convincing 9-1 quarter-final win over Slovakia. Carleton University’s Brandon MacLean of Burlington, Ont., tallied five points while Western Ontario’s Kevin Baker of Georgetown, Ont., had a hat-trick and an assist. See separate game recap for men’s hockey.
 
Canada faces defending Universiade champion Russia Saturday at 1 p.m. ET (8 p.m. local time) for a spot in Sunday’s final. The duel will be a rematch of the last two gold-medal finals, as Canada beat Russia 3-1 in the title game in 2007 and dropped a 4-2 decision against its archrivals in 2009.

In alpine skiing, Rebecca Nadler, a Harvard University student from Ottawa, was the top Canadian woman in the slalom finishing in 32nd place thanks to a time of 1:57.79. University of Montreal’s Marie-France Tessier of Montreal (2:01.04) was 47th, while Nicole Poleschuk of Winnipeg did not finish the race.
 
In cross country skiing, Canada had two entries in the mixed team sprint free semifinals (6 x 1.3 km). Both failed to advance to the final race.
 
Laval University’s Benjamin Hébert of Montreal and teammate Zoe Roy of Bracebridge, Ont. finished seventh with a time of 16:17.0 in the first semi, while the Laval pair of Vincent Ruel of Charny, Que., and Alexia Pichard-Jolicoeur of St.-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que., finished ninth in the second race.
 
In snowboarding, Anne-Frédérique Grenier of Beaupré, Que., was the lone Canadian competitor in the qualification round of the women’s half pipe. The Laval student did not advance after receiving scores of 10.6 and 14.1. 
 
TEAM CANADA RESULTS: Thursday, February 3
 
ALPINE SKIING

Women’s Giant Slalom
 
1. Jennifer Vanwagner, USA, 1:53.26; 2. Lucia Mazzotti, Italy, 1:53.55; 3. Karolina Chrapek, Poland, 1:53.73; 32. Rebecca Nadler, Ottawa, Ont., 1:57.79; 47. Marie-France Tessier, Montreal, Que., 2:01.04; Nicole Poleschuk, Winnipeg, Man., did not finish.
 
CROSS COUNTRY SKIING
 
Mixed Team Sprint Free 6x1.3km Semifinal 1
 
1. Slovakia I, 15:35.6; 7. Canada I (Benjamin Hébert, Montreal, Que., Zoe Roy, Bracebridge, Ont.), 16:17.0, did not advance.
 
Mixed Team Sprint Free 6x1.3km Semifinal 2
 
1. Ukraine, I, 15:23.9; 9. Canada II (Vincent Ruel, Charny, Que., Alexia Pichard-Jolicoeur, St.-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que.), 17:10.3, did not advance.

CURLING
 
Men’s Tiebreaker
 
Czech Republic           0 3 0 1 0 4 0 0 3 X – 11
Canada                        1 0 2 0 1 0 2 1 0 X – 7
 
Canada finishes fifth overall and does not advance to semifinals. 
 
MEN’S HOCKEY
 
Quarter-finals
 
Canada (3-0-1) defeats Slovakia (2-1-1) 9-1; faces defending Universiade champion Russia (4-0) in semifinals on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
 
SNOWBOARDING
 
Women’s Half Pipe Qualification
 
1. Shuang Li, China, 24.7 / 25.0; 10. Anne-Frédérique Grenier, Beaupré, Que., 10.6 / 14.1, did not advance.
 
 
-CIS-