Regina Cougars women’s curling finish fourth at U Sports nationals

University of Regina Cougars women's curling skip Chloe Johnston calls line during the 2026 U Sports bronze medal draw in Regina on Feb. 21, 2026

The University of Regina Cougars women’s curling team earned themselves a fourth place finish as the hosts for the 2026 U Sports national curling championships.

Regina, led by skip Chloe Johnston, lost their bronze medal draw Saturday afternoon 8-2 at the hands of the University of Alberta.

In what was a rematch of the Canada West conference championship, Alberta’s Gracelyn Richards took full control midway through the draw, scoring a four pointer in the 4th end.

Team Johnston couldn’t recover, eventually shaking hands after just six ends as the Pandas took bronze.

Still, the team sees their week as a success.

“As we wanted to bring home a medal or a trophy and the Red jackets, we’re just so proud of ourselves,” second Hannah Rugg told CTV News after the loss. “We were a throw together team, we all have our own competitive teams and we’re just so happy with how well we performed all week.”

The Cougars are thankful for the support from fans, family and friends which they received all week long.

“They were there with us the whole way,” added Rugg. “With meals between games and helping us through some tough patches, we just got stronger each game.”

As a young team which is still growing, the fourth place finish is an improvement from the seventh place the women’s team finished in 2025.

Now they are looking to take the next step.

“Our goal this week was to make playoffs and we [got] there,” the second said. “Next year, it’s going to be a medal or winning it all.”

As for the men, led by Carter Williamson, they went 1-5 through the round robin – finishing last place in the event and did not make the playoffs.

Dinos, Sea-hawks claim gold medals

Both the gold medal games on both the men’s and women’s sides went down to the wire.

The University of Calgary Dinos took on Carleton in the men’s championship.

Down one with the hammer in the 8th, Carleton tied the game to force an extra end.

In the 9th, Dinos’ skip Kenan Wipf executed a perfect draw to the button with his last to score the single and a 7-6 win.

“[We] battle hard all week,” he said after the win. “We didn’t come with our best stuff to start the week, we started a little slow but we kept getting better every game.”

The Dinos went 5-2 through the round robin, including being on the wrong side of Team Williamson’s only win of the week.

Calgary beat Memorial University’s men’s team to make the gold medal game.

The championship is the Dino’s first national curling title.

“[Being a national champion] sounds awesome,” said Wipf. “Going into this week, you never knew what was going to happen.”

On the women’s side, Memorial also claimed its first national women’s U Sports championship.

“It’s pretty surreal,” skip Cailey Locke said. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet so we’re on a bit of a high for sure.”

Memorial beat Regina in Saturday’s semi-finals.

Then in the gold medal game against McMaster, the draw came down to the final rock.

Game tied in the eighth, Marauders skip Evelyn Robert attempted the tap-raise for the win on her final stone.

With two reds and two yellows inside the 4ft, the point was too close to call, forcing a measurement.

In the end, the Sea-hawks rock was closest, as Memorial stole the win.

“We had a great week, I’m so proud of the girls and the way they stuck in,” Locke said. “We really fought hard in a lot of games and came back, we showed our grit.”

Alberta’s men’s team also took home third place as the school swept the bronze medal position.

The gold medals mean Team Wipf and Team Locke will represent Canada at the 2027 FISU World Winter Games in China.

Both skips have donned the red jackets at junior worlds in the past.

“I can’t wait to do it again,” Locke said. “I don’t think it’s ever going to feel real.”

“It’s a moment to be cherished and it’s an event I won’t forget as well,” Wipf added. “It’s halfway across the world, so that’ll be cool to go to a place I’ve never gone to.”

The week’s event also featured the Canadian Collegiate Athletics Association national championships.

Humber College won gold in the men’s tournament while Red Deer claimed the championship on the women’s side.