On Sunday (Jan. 7) in a battle of Olympians, Morris (2010 gold medalist) and Lawes (2014 gold medal) defeated the team of St. John's Nfld.'s Brad Gushue (2006 gold medal) and Edmonton's Val Sweeting (two-time national champion runner up) 8-6 in eight ends.
With the win, the Lawes/Morris combination will make history in being the first Canadian mixed doubles team to compete in the inaugural Olympics competition.
The Sunday win in Portage La Prairie, Man. was an overall comeback, as Sweeting/Gushue defeated Lawes/Morris 6-3 in round robin play, then 9-4 in a Saturday playoff game.
"It was a fantastic atmosphere there," said Morris, Tuesday (Jan. 9). "It was almost a full house and a little lighter than the trials (team trials in December in Ottawa). They actually had music playing during games, which was really cool."
After the final, it was all smiles as Lawes' mom was on hand as she and Morris celebrated the victory. "I love kimchi," said Morris on CBC afterward, "I can't wait to get over there."
"Kaitlyn's mom was really excited and we were pretty jacked. It was sure cool."
In the eight-end final, the fourth and fifth ends proved to be critical.
After a slow start to the game, and down 3-1 after three ends to Sweeting/Gushue, Sweeting was slightly heavy with a draw to the button on top of three Lawes/Morris stones. Rather than nestling into the three stones, which would have made Sweeting's rock nearly impossible to move, she tapped a rock and rolled into the open.
Lawes, who threw first and last rocks for the pair, then hit and stuck for four and a 5-3 lead.
In the fifth end, Sweeting missed on a risky runback double with her final stone and the Lawes/Morris team stole a pair for a commanding 7-3 lead.
Sweeting/Gushue scored a pair in the sixth end, and stole a point in the seventh to make it 7-6, but Sweeting's last rock rolled out of play after a hit, giving Lawes/Morris the win.
"One thing we learned during the week is we played Val and Brad a few times and we didn't have a complete game against them," said Morris. "We had a good start in the 1-2 game (9-4 loss), then faltered in the last half.
"In the final, we started slow, but we felt we needed to be patient and make sure we had a good last half. We didn't panic when we got down 3-1; we just knew we had to have a good second half. And when Kaitlyn made that shot for four, that turned the game around for us.
"I think we kept the pressure on them and Val's a great player, but when you have to make that many shots in a row, it's hard to do. We felt we had to keep the heat on them the whole game and we did and it turned in our favour."
Looking ahead, Morris said he expects solid competition at the Olympics as many countries are ahead of Canada in embracing the sport.
"Mixed doubles is really popular around the world and it's taken a bit of time to catch on in Canada because we're so entrenched in our traditional curling.
"But I've been to clubs where a junior tournament was going on and it's really popular with the young people. The kids loved it. To really engage the youth, having a sport like mixed doubles bodes well for the future of our sport. The games are a little shorter and you get to meet someone from the opposite sex, which for kids 15 to 20 is an aspect they enjoy
as well.
"It's very social and it's a really fun sport."
Even at the height of action in the final, there was some room for levity as Morris nearly did a faceplant as he swept his own rock into the rings in the second end.
"Kaitlyn got a kick out of it, but it would have been tragic if I'd have hit that rock. I'm more comfortable sweeping on my left side, but you need to be able to sweep on both, which I do, but you don't have a gripper so you're more vulnerable on one side."
Up next for Morris is, "another crack at the Olympics and hopefully we can bring home a medal of a golden colour. I'm taking some time off for rest and recovery and some physio on my shoulder and I've got a few shifts at the fire hall (in Rocky View County). My body's pretty
banged up.
"I won't throw rocks for at least a week, then Kaitlyn and I are going to meet in Kitchener-Waterloo for a training camp at the end of the month to practice.
"Then we're going to Seoul for a few days, then head into the village. We actually start a day before the opening ceremonies. We're the first sport that starts and we need to get it in before the regular curling."
Mixed doubles at the Olympics will feature eight teams, "and they're all really tough. The ironic thing is we (Canada) haven't won a gold medal at world championships before, even though we've had some very good teams.
"We're consistently in the top five to 10, but never won gold, so we're hoping to change that. It's going to be a grind, so we're going to have to give it everything we've got to reach that podium.
"I'm positive we're going to play great there, and I'm really looking forward to getting immersed in the Korean culture. I think it's going to be a wonderful country to visit. I love food and they have a lot of great food there."
Lawes and Morris will join Ottawa's Rachel Homan and Calgary's Kevin Koe rinks in PyeongChang, as the Homan and Koe squads will compete in the men's and women's team curling events.
An Olympic sendoff for Morris is scheduled for the Canmore Curling Club On Jan. 23 at 6 p.m.
