\t\t\t\tBowdoin College\u2019s curling team is brushing brooms and throwing stones on its way to regional and national prominence. This season the team won the Maine State Championships and came in second in its division at the regional games, losing to Harvard University.<\/p>\n
Nationals weren\u2019t held this year \u2013 which Bowdoin won in its division<\/a>last year \u2013 because of funding issues with College Curling USA.<\/p>\n Captain Carl Spielvogel \u201913 said his team\u2019s \u201cvery happy with our results because we moved up from the very bottom of the bracket, in years of experience, and lost to the top [bracket].\u201d\u009d The current team, which Spielvogel founded last year, consists of Jay Tulchin \u201913, Andrew Hancock \u201913 and Jimena Escudero \u201913.<\/p>\n Spielvogel has also been instrumental in getting a college league started in Maine, according to a recent story in the Bangor Daily News<\/a><\/em>.<\/span>Now Bates and Unity colleges both have teams. And in early March, 10 teams from around New England and New York traveled to the Belfast Curling Club in Belfast \u2013 Maine\u2019s only curling rink \u2013 to compete in the Maine college league\u2019s first bonspiel, as curling tournaments are called.<\/p>\n Escudero, who joined the team this year, said the 23-hour bonspiel of nearly nonstop curling was the highlight of the season for her. \u201cIt was great to meet and socialize with curlers from all over the region, and as it was the first time I really saw curling in action, I feel like I learned more about the game than I had in all the weekends leading up to it.\u201d<\/p>\n Spielvogel says he anticipates the team will be a strong contender next season. \u201cNext year we\u2019ll be training hard to qualify and make it to nationals. With ice time granted twice a week to us at Bowdoin (thank you Bowdoin!) and ice time at Belfast, we\u2019ll be ready to hit the ice in October to practice drills.\u201d<\/p>\n