Robyn Munro and James Craik take Scottish Curling Junior Mixed Doubles title
Congratulations to Robyn Munro and James Craik who triumphed at the Carr’s Billington Scottish Curling Junior Mixed Doubles Championship 2022 at the Dumfries Ice Bowl. The Dumfries duo prevailed 11-9 over Amy Mitchell and Jack Strawhorn in a fiercely contested final that went all the way to an extra end.
A high-quality field of 20 teams contested the tournament in Dumfries. Split into four sections, they first tackled a round robin to decide the play-off spots with eight teams qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Unbeaten in their section, Munro/Craik comprehensively secured a place in the first knock-out round where they faced Katie McMillan and Angus Bryce. The high-profile encounter got off to a fairly even start with the Stirling side, in fact, leading by two points at the break. Munro/Craik fought back in the second half and strung together a series of singles, earning them an 8-6 win and a place in the semi-finals. Their fixture against Holly Hamilton and Hamish Gallacher was a fairly straight-forward affair. Holding a three-points advantage at the break, they brought the result over the line to book a spot in the final with an 8-4 victory.
Mitchell/Strawhorn too went undefeated in their section and faced a semi-final against Alex Mackintosh and Lewis Logan. The Stirling team got off to bright start and held a 7-2 advantage at the break. The game was blown wide open again when Mitchell/Strawhorn scored a big five to level the scores. Consecutive steals saw them lead by three points, Mackintosh/Logan fought back and took the game to an extra end. Coming down with hammer, Mitchell/Strawhorn secured a decisive point to progress to the semis with an 11-10 victory. Up against Laura Watt and Ross Craik, their semi-final was a far less nervy contest. Commanding the second half after a fairly balanced start to the encounter, they didn’t even have to play the final end to bag a 10-4 win.
Although Mitchell/Strawhorn held hammer going into the final, Munro/Craik went on the board first. The followed a single steal up with a big steal of five to already hold a handsome lead after two ends. Mitchell/Strawhorn cut down their deficit with a two-points score and a single steal and the standings read 6-3 at the break.
Munro/Craik were again first to take points in the second half with a single in End 5, but Mitchell/Strawhorn came on in strides afterwards. They scored three and although their opponents responded with a deuce, they bagged another three to take the game to an extra end. Having thrown away a big advantage, Munro/Craik were under pressure, but the duo scored a vital two points to decide the final 11-9 in their favour and secure the title.
