Their team motto is ‘never quit,’ and the four members of the local Monika Tenisch rink were true to their word on the weekend at the Merritt Curling Centre’s annual ladies’ bonspiel.

The Tenisch quartet, which includes third Jane Wowchuk, second Wendy Stone and lead Joyce Bain, staged a dramatic comeback in the sixth and final end of the ‘A’ final on Saturday afternoon to edge the Tami Desimone rink from Merritt 5-4.

Down 3-2 in the fifth end and holding the hammer, the Tenisch foursome managed to place three stones in scoring position, only to see the De Simone rink steal one with a beautiful draw to the button by skip Carolanne Rubner.

Coming home in the sixth and final end, the Tenisch team again put itself in a position to score three with just one skip rock each left to throw. Looking to avoid a possible tie, Rubner went for a riskier double takeout, only to see her stone overcurl and miss everything in the house. Tenisch didn’t even need to make her last throw to secure the come-from-behind victory.

“We never give up; we always keep curling right to the end,” said an elated Wowchuk following her team’s surprise win.

(Right) Not many things will take curlers away from their sport, but the birth of a grandchild is most definitely one of them. Skip Tami Desimone enjoys the company of little Millie, born Saturday morning at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. Congratulations! (Ian Webster/Herald).

(Right) Not many things will take curlers away from their sport, but the birth of a grandchild is most definitely one of them. Skip Tami Desimone enjoys the company of little Millie, born Saturday morning at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. Congratulations! (Ian Webster/Herald).

That the De Simone rink even made it to the ‘A’ final is a story unto itself. Things were proceeding normally for the regular foursome until early Saturday morning, when the skip received the exciting news that she was about to be come a first-time grandmother. De Simone rushed off to Kamloops to be with her daughter, Katerina, while Rubner moved up from third to the skip’s role, and Carla Bacon was hastily succonded to complete the quartet.

Monday morning, Desimone reported that she was the proud grandmother of a beautiful baby girl named Millie.

In the ‘B’ final at the ladies’ bonspiel, the Lois Ward rink held off a late charge by the Susan Newton foursome by stealing two in the sixth end and winning 7-3. Other members of the Ward team were third Iris Hodson, second Pearl Mountford and lead Larkin Mettler.

Finally, in the ladies’ ‘C’ event, the Lorna Latremouille rink jumped out to an early 4-0 lead against the Carrie Ellingsen foursome and held on for a 6-2 victory. The winning team also included third Lucy McGillvray, second Darlene Gellrich and lead Audrey Ward.

A highlight of the final end was a draw to the button by Ward with her opening rock, which held up as the only scoring stone for the duration of the end, thanks to some wonderful guards placed by her teammates.

A total of 10 local rinks took part in the 2017 Merritt ladies’ bonspiel, which was co-sponsored by Doctors’ Eye Care, Black’s Pharmacy, Nicola Valley Veterinary Clinic and Nicola Valley Repair. The theme of this year’s event was ‘Masquerade’. Special kudos got out to principal organizer and relative newcomer to the Nicola Valley, Sharlene Lively. A job well done!