{"id":91,"date":"2016-02-06T15:55:23","date_gmt":"2016-02-06T20:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/students.bowdoin.edu\/curling\/?p=91"},"modified":"2016-02-06T15:55:23","modified_gmt":"2016-02-06T20:55:23","slug":"college-curling-teams-chase-national-points-in-falmouth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/students.bowdoin.edu\/curling\/2016\/02\/06\/college-curling-teams-chase-national-points-in-falmouth\/","title":{"rendered":"College curling teams chase national points in Falmouth"},"content":{"rendered":"

FALMOUTH \u2013 You don\u2019t need to be a rocket scientist to appreciate curling. But maybe it helps.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Greg Dooley is looking to compete in the USA Curling College Championships for the fourth straight year \u2013 while earning a Ph.D in astrophysics from MIT.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cCurling gets me out of Cambridge and is a really fun activity. It\u2019s social and I get to meet up with friends. I come back to school on Mondays feeling refreshed,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I also like the strategy that is involved. There is a good amount of thinking about where you place the stone, how you\u2019re going to call the sweep, and the communication back-and-forth with each other. Once you\u2019ve curled for a while you realize how important all that is.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See a photo gallery from Saturday’s competition<\/strong><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dooley made the journey with his teammates Saturday to the Cape Cod Curling Club in Falmouth to compete against five other colleges in a one-day bonspiel. Matches began at 8:30 a.m. and lasted until 4:30 p.m. as teams vied to accumulate merit points that could send them on to next month\u2019s nationals in Minnesota. Also participating were teams from Bowdoin College, RPI, Yale, Harvard and Boston University.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The event was hosted for the third straight year by Bowdoin, even though team members had one of the longest commutes at more than four hours. But traveling great distances is not uncommon for competitors who have become hooked by a sport that most people see only when the Winter Olympics roll around every four years.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Many of the same schools who were in Falmouth will head to Utica, N.Y., next weekend for a bonspiel. In a season that began in October and ends later this month, these collegiate curlers will compete across the Northeast.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThese kids are amazing,\u201d said Bill Gallagher, a Cape Cod Curling member who helped organize Saturday\u2019s event. \u201cWe donate the ice time, but they coordinate everything as far as getting the schools here.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As a club sport, none of the teams have official coaches. Instead, the more experienced curlers serve as team leaders.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In curling, a player slides a heavy stone down a long sheet of ice as teammates use brooms to sweep the ice, thus causing the stones to curve or curl toward a circular scoring target. Sixteen stones are thrown in each round, which is called an end. Points are awarded at the conclusion of the end, depending on which team\u2019s stone or stones is closest to the scoring area, called the house.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Teams earned two points for each match win at Saturday\u2019s bonspiel, with the losing team collecting one point. Total team points for a season that ends in mid-February will determine the 16 teams that qualify for the nationals.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bowdoin entered this weekend\u2019s completion ranked third nationally, while RPI was tied for first. Yale, Harvard, BU and MIT were all within the top 16 heading into the weekend, but none were yet assured of a trip to Minnesota.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re on the bubble,\u201d said Dooley, whose MIT team is ranked 14th. \u201cThis weekend and next weekend are very important. We need to play well and win some games.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Curling remains something of a niche sport, even on campuses that field teams. None of the schools competing on Saturday have more than 20 members in their program, while MIT has just seven this year and Harvard sent only three curlers to Falmouth.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But those that compete are devoted to a sport that many started playing only in the past few years.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI began curling when I came upon a learn-to-curl program at Yale. I was hooked from day one,\u201d said Allison Goldberg.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A Phoenix native, Goldberg is studying for her Ph.D in pharmacology, yet she finds the time most weekends to attend bonspiels.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really welcoming sport,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can start at nothing and work your way up. Everyone you meet is so enthusiastic. It\u2019s definitely an up-and-coming sport at Yale.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bowdoin teammates Silas Domy and Lauren Bostick organized Saturday\u2019s bonspiel. Most bonspiels run through the entire weekend, but a lack of available ice time limited Saturday\u2019s competition to one day. Therefore, games that can last up to 2 1\/2 hours were reduced from eight ends to six, and a championship round had to be scrapped.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a less stressful event without the finals, but it\u2019s still fun,\u201d Domy said. \u201cEverybody is still looking to accumulate points to qualify for the nationals. It\u2019s a really nice environment here, but we\u2019re competing and we want to win.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Still, there are unlikely to be any dust-ups at a bonspiel.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cCurling is a pretty social sport,\u201d Bostick says. \u201cWe have these weekends when we compete, and then we have lunch and dinner together. But the competition can get intense.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Domy, a government and environmental studies major, calls curling \u201cpsychological chess.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThere are just a million combinations of what can happen,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are a lot more variables than in other sports.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This much seems certain: Curling demands commitment. Bowdoin doesn\u2019t have a curling rink on campus, so the team drives 90 minutes to Belfast, Maine, for practices and home competitions. They figured to make it back on campus after Saturday\u2019s bonspiel at around 9 p.m.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cBut after our success this year we\u2019re gaining something of a following,\u201d Domy says. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool, actually.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Originally posted on\u00a0http:\/\/www.capecodtimes.com\/article\/20160206\/SPORTS\/160209593 with photos<\/p>\n

 \t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FALMOUTH \u2013 You don\u2019t need to be a rocket scientist to appreciate curling. But maybe it helps. Greg Dooley is looking to compete in the USA Curling College Championships for the fourth straight year \u2013 while earning a Ph.D in astrophysics from MIT. \u201cCurling gets me out of Cambridge and is a really fun activity. 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