“Two years ago, we were like lost puppies.”
Prior to the inaugural U-25 NextGen Mixed Doubles Classic, Jessica Zheng and Victor Pietrangelo hadn’t really been exposed to any high-level coaching, or technical instruction.
Despite their inexperience, they managed to win the 2022 NextGen Classic at Edmonton’s Saville Community Sports Centre, which earned them a spot in the NextGen Development program.
“We’d never really had a coach,” continued Pietrangelo, “So all of a sudden, having access to all sorts of resources and people like Scott Pfieffer and Renee Sonnenberg… it was definitely helpful.”
Their success continued in the event last year, where they once again reached the final at the NextGen Classic, but lost. This year, they found themselves in the final again – looking to avoid another defeat.
“Losing the final last year hurt,” said Pietrangelo. “We didn’t want to do that again. The atmosphere out there is great, the ice is amazing, so we could really just focus on trying to play well.”
And play well, they did.
The Niagara Falls, Ont.-based duo faced Winnipeg’s Mackenzie Arbuckle and Aaron MacDonell in the final. Although Arbuckle and Macdonell started the game with last rock, Zheng and Pietrangelo took the first point.
“It was a little nervewracking,” said Pietrangelo. “It was the first game all week that we didn’t start with the hammer. It felt like we were scraping by for a bit.”
After two more steals in the second and third end, Zheng and Pietrangelo took a 4-0 lead into the fourth, where Arbuckle and Macdonell were finally able to put a point on the board.
Playing with hammer for the first time in the game, Zheng and Pietrangelo scored five, which extended their lead to 9-1, and essentially put the game out of reach.
“The five came out of nowhere,” said Pietrangelo. “It was a solid end, and we made a bunch of shots, but it didn’t look like a big end was coming until the very end.”
Arbuckle and Macdonell managed to score two in the sixth, but the writing was on the wall and the game was conceded with a 9-3 final.
“It was a great week,” said Zheng, who has now won two of the three editions of this championship. “We just kept applying pressure and tried to get them to have to make the hard shots.”
Earlier in the week, Zheng and Pietrangelo had sessions with Curling Canada coaches as part of the NextGen program.
“It’s nice to have these training sessions, and have access to ice early in the season,” said Zheng. “We spent a lot of time on technical stuff – and also some specific Mixed Doubles strategy.”
“There was a lot of stuff that we could apply right away,” said Pietrangelo. “But also, a lot that we can take home and continue to work on.”
The U-25 NextGen Classic top prize affords them $3,000 in NextGen funding and extends their access to Curling Canada’s high-performance staff.
Next up for the duo, a playdown for Canada’s spot at the FISU Universiade. They’ll be one of twenty teams trying to earn the right to wear the maple leaf at the World University Games in Torino, Italy next year.
