ST. JOHN'S - The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks won the CIS gold medal in a 7-4 win over the Brock Badgers, and will compete at the Karuizawa International Curling Championship next January in Japan. 

In the CIS final, Laurier's experience and skill helped them power over their opponents.  The game started out slow as the Hawks played defensively, and exchanged single points.  Laurier then took the lead with two consecutive steals in the fifth and sixth ends, to have a 4-3 advantage with hammer and three ends to go.  After some key misses by Brock, skip Laura Crocker (Scarborough, Ont.) drew the rings for three points.  Giving the Badgers a point in the ninth end, the Hawks peeled their way to a 7-4 victory, without having to throw the last rock.

"It wasn't the best game we played all week, but we did a really good job of sticking together and pushing through it, and our teamwork is what brought us out on top," said skip Laura Crocker, "We couldn't be happier with the result, and we are really looking forward to wearing the maple leaf in Karuizawa."

Overall, the women's curling team had a great year consisting of a CIS gold medal and an impressive 22-3 record.  This makes it the third CIS gold in the last four years for Laurier, with hopes of adding to that record next year.