Recap: Day 4 of the 2024 U SPORTS Curling Championships

Day four marked the final day of round-robin play at the U SPORTS Curling Championships, with all eyes set on who would clinch the remaining spots in the semi-finals.

The men opened day four with two teams clinching a playoff spot. Laurier scored a four-ender in the seventh, forcing early handshakes against the Dalhousie Tigers, 9-2. Meanwhile, the Alberta Golden Bears used a strong second half, scoring a double in the sixth and stealing the eighth and ninth ends to defeat the Regina Cougars, 6-3. In a crucial battle for the final playoff spot, the UNB REDS used an early triple in the second end and a string of three consecutive stolen ends to cruise to a 10-2 victory over the Guelph Gryphons. Finally, the Saint Mary's Huskies secured their first win of the tournament by defeating Brock 10-5, also eliminating the Badgers from playoff contention.

The final draw for the men featured four tightly contested matches as teams looked to lock in a spot in the playoffs or play spoiler. The Dalhousie Tigers and Regina Cougars claimed the final playoff spots in the end. The Tigers were pushed to extra ends by UNB but were able to come out on top, 7-6. While the Cougars, despite being down by three heading into the final three ends, stole the ninth and tenth ends to come back and beat Saint Mary's, 6-5. Alberta clinched the top spot in the pool after scoring a triple in the eleventh end to defeat Brock, 7-4. Meanwhile, Guelph finished off their tournament on a high note, beating Laurier, 6-5.

The women's draw started the day with multiple teams still in the race for the playoffs. Alberta, the lone team to clinch a spot heading into day four, used a four-point ninth end to defeat McMaster 10-7. The REDS rode three consecutive stolen ends to take down Waterloo 6-2, keeping UNB's playoff hopes alive. Laurentian used a strong second half, scoring a triple in the seventh and a double in the ninth to come out on top against Mount Allison 6-4, remaining in the playoff race with the McMaster loss. Meanwhile, Dalhousie scored a five-ender in the seventh on the way to a 9-4 win over Victoria, eliminating the Vikes from playoff contention.

In the last draw of the day on day four, there were still five teams in contention for the final three playoff spots in the women's standings. Despite trailing by two heading into the tenth end, the host UNB REDS were able to steal three in the final end to defeat Mount Allison, 7-6, and clinch the second seed. Victoria played the role of spoiler on Friday night, scoring a double in the ninth and stealing a single in the tenth to defeat McMaster, 7-5, eliminating them from playoff contention with the UNB win. Despite losing their final games, Dalhousie and Waterloo punched their tickets to the semi-finals with the McMaster loss. Dalhousie came up just short against Alberta, 7-6. The Pandas finished round-robin play undefeated at 7-0. Waterloo dropped a 7-4 decision to Laurentian in the final draw of the day.

With round-robin play in the books, the focus shifts to the semi-finals at 9:30 am on Saturday. On the men's side, Alberta will face Regina while Laurier matches up against Dalhousie. For the women, Alberta battles Dalhousie, while the hosts UNB and Waterloo go toe-to-toe. The Medal games will get underway at 2:30 pm.

WOMEN'S STANDINGS

1. Alberta Pandas 5-0
2. UNB REDS 4-3
3. Waterloo Warriors 4-3
4. Dalhousie Tigers 4-3
5. McMaster Marauders 3-4
6. Laurentian Voyageurs 3-4
7. Victoria Vikes 2-5
8. Mount Allison Mounties 1-6

MEN'S STANDINGS

1. Alberta Golden Bears 6-1
2. Laurier Golden Hawks 5-2
3. Dalhousie Tigers 5-2
4. Regina Cougars 4-3
5. UNB REDS 3-4
6. Guelph Gryphons 3-4
7. Saint Mary's Huskies 1-6
8. Brock Badgers 1-6