Opening their season with a bang, the Pandas Selects curling team captured the inaugural Curling Canada U25 NextGen Classic, this past weekend at Saville Community Sports Centre. 

Led by skip Serena Gray-Withers, the Pandas went 3-2 in round robin play, before winning both playoff games on the weekend. The Pandas, featuring Gray-Withers alongside third Catherine Clifford, second Brianna Cullen, and lead Zoe Cinnamon, earned a 5-4 semifinal win over Team Ladouceur, before winning a thrilling 8-7 extra-end final over Team Ackerman. 

Not only did the Pandas win back-to-back playoff games, they also rolled off three-straight round robin victories after starting the event 0-2. 

The event was the first of it's kind put on by Curling Canada, featuring 20 teams (10 men's and 10 women's) playing for a share of $50,000 and a spot in Canada's NextGen development program. 

The Golden Bears Selects also finished round robin play with a 3-2 record, but missed the playoffs after the tie-breaker formula was applied. 

The next event on the calendar for the Pandas is the Saville Shootout, held from September 9th to 11th. 
 

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