Laurier sweeps national curling titles for first time since 2008
The Laurier men’s and women’s curling rinks lived up to their Golden Hawks name, sweeping the national titles on Friday afternoon as the 2025 U SPORTS / Curling Canada Championships came to a close at the Lethbridge Curling Club.
It’s just the fourth time the U SPORTS curling titles have been won by the same school since the event began in 2008, and the first since 2018 when the Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas accomplished the feat for the second time in four years. The Golden Hawks are the only other program to take both championships in the same season, at the inaugural tournament 17 years ago.
“It’s amazing for the school,” said Golden Hawks men’s head coach Matthew Wilkinson. “We always strive for excellence at Laurier and we’ve had some great success over the many years of the program. To come up with a double gold – it’s been a while, since that’s happened. Words can’t describe it right now for the program.”
Both teams won their fifth respective national championships in school history. For the women, the 5-4 win over McMaster capped an undefeated 9-0 run and marks their first gold medal since winning four times in five years from 2008-12. The men’s 7-4 triumph over Carleton earned them their third title in four championships since 2020.
“It feels just so amazing. All the girls worked so hard all year,” said women’s skip Emma Artichuk, whose rink now stands one behind Alberta’s six all-time titles. “They played amazing all week, and I’m just I’m so happy we were able to put it away and come out with the win.”
“I’m just so happy, we have just a phenomenal team,” echoed her men’s counterpart Kibo Mulima, as the Golden Hawks extended their lead as the most decorated men’s side of any U SPORTS program. “Phenomenal group of guys, coach, and I’m just I’m so proud of everybody.”
In the women’s championship match, the Golden Hawks and Marauders traded doubles in the second and third, before Laurier added a single in the fourth and another stolen point in the fifth. McMaster replied with another pair in the sixth to tie things up at four, setting the stage for a dramatic finish. With one end to play, it all came down to the final moments, when Artichuk landed the golden point with hammer.
“McMaster was such a good team,” Artichuk said, after getting redemption for their OUA Championship defeat. “My last shot, I literally thought it was an impossible (one) – that clearly was made possible. Wow, I just have no words.”
For the McMaster women, the silver medal was their first-ever podium finish – coming in their fifth appearance at the event, with the last being in 2013.
In the men’s gold medal game, the Golden Hawks and Ravens were tied at three at the break, before Laurier scored a pair in the fifth and stole another in the sixth to take a 6-3 lead. The teams exchanged singles in the final two frames, giving Laurier the 7-4 victory.
Meanwhile, the Dalhousie Tigers women and Memorial Sea-Hawks men claimed the bronze medals with identical 6-5 wins. The Tigers were down 4-1 to Thompson Rivers at the break but rebounded with five consecutive points – three of them stolen – to come out with the win. It was a similar back-and-forth affair for the men, as the Sea-Hawks led 6-2 after six, but Memorial managed to hold off a late three-point UNB comeback to land on the podium.
Earlier in the day, the Laurier men punched their ticket to the final by jumping out to a 5-0 lead after three, and adding a triple in the sixth, to defeat UNB 8-2 in just six ends. Carleton advanced after scoring a pair in the third and sixth for a 6-3 win over Memorial.
The Laurier women qualified for the final after scoring four in the final frame to take a 9-4 decision over Dalhousie, while McMaster had doubles in the second and fifth to edge Thompson River 5-4.
