The third time is hopefully the charm for Karynn Flory.
The St. Albert curler is skipping her NAIT Ooks’ rink to its third nationals in three years after winning the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference championship for the second time.
It’s gold or go home for Flory at the March 25 to 28 nationals in Olds after finishing as the 2013 silver medallist and last year’s bronze medallist.
“Our whole team’s ultimate goal is to get gold. That’s what we’re aiming for,” said the ACAC women’s curler of the year. “We feel pretty confident as a team going in. We have a very strong team.”
Flory’s Avonair-based lineup of Richelle Baer, Amanda Moizis, Katie Rosewich and alternate Tegan Dutton finished the ACAC championships at 4-2 last weekend in Grande Prairie. They were ranked second in the tournament playoff after going 9-3 in the regular season.
The Page 1-2 playoff saw NAIT lose to the Augustana Vikings on the last shot of the game before rebounding to beat the Red Deer Queens in the semifinal.
In the final NAIT edged the Vikings 6-5 in a game decided on the last shot by the Augustana skip.
“It sure was not smooth,” said Flory of the ACAC championships. “The final was really back and forth all game. With her last shot she had to make an absolute perfect shot and she just missed.”
It’s the second ACAC title in three years for Flory after losing to the MacEwan Griffins in the 2014 final.
Flory, 22, was also honoured as the top ACAC female curler based on her performance throughout the two regular season regionals.
“I’m glad to be recognized with such a high honour in curling at the collegiate level,” said the Bellerose Composite High School alumna. “Honestly, I can’t say I expected to get it but it was nice to hear that I got it. It’s voted upon by the coaches so it’s nice to know I’m recognized as one of the top skips out there.”
Jules Owchar, the legendary NAIT coach, believes Flory will soon be a household name in the sport.
“Karynn is one of the most promising young skips in the game these days. She has not reach yet reached her potential and is someone you will be hearing more from in the future.”
The 2013 Alberta junior champion is maturing into an elite level curler.
“I feel that I’m more confident skipping the rink knowing that I’m there calling the right shots and doing the best I can for the team,” said Flory, who has two years of ACAC eligibility remaining at NAIT. “Emotionally I’ve improved. It’s been a big adjustment over the past few years and I find I’m at a good place right now where I’m very comfortable. High pressure situations do not stress me out as they used to.”
Flory’s road to nationals included a trip to the Alberta Scotties championship in Lacombe in January as the northern Alberta B qualifier.
“As a rink we were super pumped to get there. It was our goal at the beginning of the season,” she said. “It was an awesome experience just to be there and although we didn’t win any of our games it was nice to know where we stand with other teams and where we need to be successful.”
The product of the Little Rocks program at the St. Albert Curling Club has embraced the Roaring Game with open arms.
“I was five years old the first time I saw Sandra Schmirler curl and that’s when I wanted to go to the Olympics so it’s just that love of the sport that has kept me in it. The curling rink is like my second home. I find comfort being there,” said Flory, a bachelor of business administration student who graduated last year from the personal fitness training diploma program.
