TEAM SYMONDS NAT CHAMPS

Team Symonds from the ReMax Center in St. John’s claimed the National Club championship–The Travelers title– Saturday in Ottawa.

Andrew Symonds, the skip and his team of third Mark Healy, Second Cory Ewart and lead Keith Jewer claimed the championship beating Manitoba 6-4 in the title game.

The win meant everything to skip Andrew Symonds.

“Absolutely unbelievable. We played a pretty good game today as a team and Manitoba gave us a great match,” the skip said after receiving his gold medal.

Newfoundland and Labrador had the pressure on Tyler Drews and his Manitoba’s team for much of the game. Symonds scored a big three points in the third end but watched as his team’s advantage shrank in the fifth end thanks to a steal by Manitoba.

Symonds threw a big-weight double to force Manitoba into a lone point in the seventh end. Manitoba applied pressure in the eighth end, leaving Newfoundland and Labrador a quiet-weight inturn hit-and-stick for the win.

“I think it was the first time all week we had to play that kind of shot,” said Symonds. “We were a little nervous with the two (Manitoba) counters in the back.”

The St. John’s skip has curled with his third Mark Healy for the last decade. The two were joined by second Cory Ewart, who represented Newfoundland and Labrador at the 2006 Brier, four seasons ago. Keith Jewer started throwing lead stones for the Re/Max Centre team two years ago.

The week was filled with emotional moments for the men’s champions. Six days before winning his province’s first Travelers Curling Club Championship, Symonds says he was overwhelmed when he opened his hotel room door.

“Walking into the hotel to see this (jacket) with my name on it was a huge goosebumps moment. The event itself is so fantastic. When we go back home I’ll certainly be telling all the guys this is an event you want to get to,” the Newfoundland and Labrador skip said.

“This, for everyone here, was our Brier or our Scotties. It’s an incredible accomplishment just to get here, and to come here and win it is just surreal. I was pretty close to shedding some tears after that last shot.”