SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. - For the top collegiate curlers in Canada, Wednesday marked the beginning of their quest for national supremacy at the Soo Curlers Club in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

Day 1 action on the women's side featured Ontario silver medalists Mohawk College get off to a good start with two wins over MacEwan University 8-5 and Red Deer College 8-7. Mohawk was joined in the perfect column by Humber College who also won their draws against Seneca College 7-6 and Fanshawe College 7-3. Both rinks are followed by four teams tied for second with 1-1 records early in the round robin portion of the championships.

On the men's side, the defending national champion squad from Northern Alberta Institute of Technology began the round robin play with two victories to open up the round robin competition with wins over Sault College 9-6 and Humber College 9-4. NAIT was equaled by their Edmonton neighbours MacEwan University which also began play 2-0 with victories over Portage College 7-3 and Fleming College 7-4. After tough opening draw losses Alberta champion Portage and Ontario champion Sault bounced back in the evening draw with 12-6 and 13-4 wins over Fanshawe and Mohawk respectively to remain tied in a second place log jam with the same squads all with 1-1 records.

The championships continue Thursday with two draws, all action takes place at Soo Curlers. Round robin play is schedule to be run through Friday with medal round games Saturday - semi-finals at 2 p.m. and finals at 7 p.m.

Follow end by end action on the web at www.ccaa.ca/curling-championship or with Sault Sports at www.saultsports.com.

Draw 1 Results

Women
NAIT 12 - Fanshawe 2
Humber 7 - Seneca 6
Mohawk 8 - MacEwan 5
Red Deer 7 - Sault 3

Men
Fanshawe 6 - Fleming 3
NAIT 9 - Sault 6
MacEwan 7 - Portage 3
Mohawk 6 - Humber 4

Draw 2 Results

Women
Humber 7 - Fanshawe 3
Seneca  6 - NAIT 5
Mohawk 8 - Red Deer 7
MacEwan 8 - Sault 6

Men
MacEwan 7 - Fleming 4
Sault 13 - Mohawk 4
NAIT 9 - Humber 4
Portage 12 - Fanshawe 6

Standings

Women
Mohawk 2-0
Humber 2-0
Seneca 1-1
NAIT 1-1
Red Deer 1-1
MacEwan 1-1
Sault 0-2
Fanshawe 0-2

Men
NAIT 2-0
MacEwan 2-0
Sault 1-1
Portage 1-1
Mohawk 1-1

Fanshawe 1-1
Fleming 0-2
Humber 0-2

Source: Sault College