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A18 - The Canadian Champion, Tuesday, February 13, 2007 SPORTS EDITOR STEVE LeBLANC e-mail sIebIanc@haIt0flSearCh.COm ___________________ First taste of international ______ competition awfully sweet GRAHAM PAINt I CANADIAN CHAMPION CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE: Georgetown's Spencer Troop goes up for a shot while being guarded by AI Alîlovir (Ieft) and MatI SeweII of Bishop Redîng durîng senior basket- baIl play aI BR Wednesday afternoon. The Royals ast 71-48 to finish the regular season aI 8-2. They host either Iroquols Rîdge or T.A. Blakelock in the Haîton AA4 semîfînals Frîday, starting at 330 p.m. Armstrong~ nnk golden at Karuizawa showcase By Steve LeBlanc CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF E arlier tbis monîh Leigh Armstrong enjoyed ber first taste of international competition. And if results are any iiidicatioii, il won'î be ber last. The 24-year-old Miltonian and ber rînk- mates îook a significant step toward what they bope will be a successful qualîfy- ~ ing bid for the 2010 Olympics, wînning the , - Karuîzawa international Curling Champîonship in Japan. Clincbing top bonours agaînat an Amencan team thats played in the Olympîcs and shinîng at tbe sanse nnk where ihe 1998 Nagano Games were con- îested served only to boîster motivation for Armsîrong's squad - whicb has been Leigh A together less tban a year. 'Ibis is definîtely incentîve so get Canada on our backs again." saîd tbe local curler, who along with longtime teammates Julie Reddick and Stephanie Leachman of Oakville and newly acquired leader Jo-Ano Rizzo of Brantford were picked to represent tbeir country back in November. Building on a strong finish ai the recent Ontarîo Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Armsirong and company put together a 6 i round-robin record to reach the playoffs, and - once there - toppled the Japanese national team 11-6 in the semîfinals. The Canadian contingent would then punc- tuate its gold-medal run with a measure of pay- back, avenging a 9-5 loss to the US. in the final round-robin draw with a 6-5 titie victory The Amencan squad încluded an opponent awfully famihar to the winners. VVhile now residing and competing in Oakville, Erika Brown remains a US. citizen and - conse- quently - isn't eligible to represent her adopted homeland. "Yeah, it was very strange to go so far ]Ust to face someone we see ail the time," quipped Armstrong, the second on ber Karuizawa champi- onsbip team. Fooking to shake tbings up after a rougb early stretcb of the provincials, - Reddick and Rizzo swapped positions - witb Reddick assuming sLip duties. lnitially planned for nexs season, tbe move proved fruitful - witb tbree straîgbt wins to end round-robin play - and ihat reversai of fortune car- ned over into international play Tbe switcb definîtely worked well for us," saîd Armstrong, wbo won three consecutîve junior provin- cial tities with Reddick and mstrong Leacbman. And even tbougb Rîzzo wasn't skip, she stîli provided plenty of expenence and leadersbîp." That was crucial in îbc final, as Canada jumped out to a 4-0 lead but was tben pressured by the Americans, who narrowed the gap îo one with points in the fourth, fîfth and seventh ends Canada rebounded to notcb two in the eighth, which proved vital after the US. coun- tered witb îwo of its own in the nintb. Canada tben blanked tbe final end to secure tbe win. For ber part, Armstrong came througb with some timely double takeouts to hold tbe opposi- tion ai bay in botb tbe semîfinal and final. "We certainly didn'i want to lose to them (US.) îwice," Armstrong said. "We played well and just capitalized on our opportunities." *i MUD WUNTER CUSTOMER APPRECIATUON SAVE u~o3O% ON SELECT PAINT S ~Afl O J SAVE ON SELECT IN-STORE SAVE UPTOEtU /0 WALLCOVERINGS & BORDERS ON SHUTTERSIBLINDS ~ * * w We want 3,018 to have Completely Satisfled A uu*j~ ~umIa~ ~?\, WE SELL SAWDSFACIIOV4 W WINTER SERVICE SPECIAL T ______________________ - Peace-of-Mind Maintenance Service $4995t ~J Upu 5 litres ut 5W30 Mupar Tii ~ Mupar Tii Fîttie Lute wtlrre applicaSie) ~ Tep-up wassee tluid ,pj' Rutusue et 4 tiees~ Peare et-Mîrd lespectier i~ Prouide wrîttee repuT or tiridirgs puuo,îîouîuruîues nues, apoleu te, uereî urUs COMI uer lit uspusul oeriîsurtherîs eut suîirrîetîu el Front Wheel Alignment $5995* ~ Set tire pressure ~ Computecîtrd ali5emert ~ Tue adjusement ~ Steereig urd suspensIon inspecilur