Expectations were high for Team Epping and Team Scharf as play at the NOCA Men's & Women's Provincial Championship opened last Tuesday at the North Bay Ganite Club.

That comes with the territory when you are the skip of a team ranked #8 in the world (John Epping) or a skip whose appearances at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts now number in the double digits (Krista Scharf).

And for as much as it is obviously a good thing when the body of work you and your team have mustered sets the bar pretty darn high for an event such as this, the measure is not one without challenges.

"We were probably the team that was the most nervous going in, with living up to the pressure and expectations," noted Team Scharf vice-skip and local curling star Kendra Lilly, her Fort William Curling Club entry rounded out by the presence of Ashley Sippala (second) and Sarah Potts (lead).

"Going into provincials as the favourites on paper, we know that every team normally comes with their "A" game for us - and we were prepared for that."

To their credit, the rink that will make their eighth appearance at the Canadian Championships that open later this month in Mississauga with all four of the above-noted women on board* navigated their way through the 2026 playdowns in style, posting an unblemished round robin record of 6-0 and capping things off with a 9-7 win in the final over FWCC clubmate Robyn Despins.

(*Scharf, Sippala and Potts qualified on a pair of occasions before they welcomed Lilly to the fold in 2016)

"This was definitely the most consistent the four of us have played together in a while," said Lilly. "We feel that we're in a really good spot heading into the Scotties."

Following only the scorelines apparently was a tad misleading early in the week as Team Scharf survived close calls against both Sudbury native Abby Deschene (8-6) and Idylwylde rep Bella Croisier (6-5) before beginning to pull away in most games.

"Abby made some incredible shots to keep her team in the game - and then Bella Crosier did exactly the same," said Lilly. "Those games could have gone either way. That's how our week began - but we started getting into our groove a little bit after that."

While folks might think that a trip to Scotties has become old hat for these perennial Northern Ontario champions, the Thunder Bay - based foursome have added a twist this year as 16 year-old Bella McCarville (Scharf's daughter) joins the team at nationals as an alternate.

"To be able to see it (the Scotties) through her eyes for the first time is really exciting," said Lilly.