Carstairs clinch place in top flight
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Muir of Ord Curling Club will have two rinks competing in next season’s Ross Province top flight after their number four skip, David Carstairs won the B League Webster Trophy in the final round of play.
Heather Gill, skip of the Ross Ladies first rink looked set to win the league for her club mate Ann Gibb, skip of the Ross Ladies second string. When Gill went ahead of league leaders Carstairs with a triple count in the penultimate end, it was a second twist in the game but a third was still to come.
The first was when the Carstairs rink of Steve MacKenzie, Adrian Bruce and Euan MacKenzie had burst into action with an opening four shots and followed up with a double to charge ahead 6-0.
The Ladies in Gill’s team, Hellen Vass, Clara Robertson, and Diane Black, then hit back with four singles and a seventh end steal of three shots to go in front. Then came the knock out punch from Muir of Ord, a matching three shots in the last end to win the game 9-7, the league, and the Webster Trophy.
Ann Gibb had to win her tie for a chance of second place but again it was another Muir of Ord skip, David Lyall, who scuppered her when he picked up five shots in end three on his way to a comprehensive 11-5 result.
It lifted his rink to 10 points and the third place finish.
Earning the second promotion place and a return to the A League is Ian Mackay and his Dornoch curlers attached to the Caberfeidh Club who beat Julian Hunter team 7-2.
In next season’s A League Mackay and his Dornoch curlers, Donald Munro, Hamish MacRae and Billy MacKay will renew their rivalry will their Sutherland Province curlers from the other side of the Dornoch Bridge, Locheye Curling Club. Muir of Ord club sealed off by their newest skip Trevor MacFadzean who won 8-2 against Ted Miles (Caberfeidh) to avoid finishing last in the table.
In the Muir of Ord Noble Trophy final, Ross Urquhart came out on top against Carstairs to win 9-3.
Urquhart’s team included Moira MacDonald, Adrian Bruce and Susan Vaughn who saw off Carstairs’ team of Ross Bartlett, Rod Gilles and Andrew Humphries.
