A team made up entirely of former skips is a win away from a Canadian women’s curling championship.
Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson downed the Jennifer Jones wild-card team 6-4 on Saturday in an all-Manitoba playoff between the top two seeds.
Einarson’s Gimli Curling Club foursome earned an express ticket to Sunday evening’s championship game.
Six-time champion Jones from Winnipeg needs to beat Ontario’s Rachel Homan in the afternoon semifinal to gain a rematch with Einarson for the title.
Einarson, third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Briane Meilleur all skipped different teams in 2017-18 before joining forces.
Einarson was on her game Saturday night in Moose Jaw, Sask., shooting 94 per cent.
She’s posted 90-plus percentages in four of her last five games.
“I’m just in the zone,” the skip said. “Not thinking about anything else, but just making those shots.
“I’ve just been feeling really comfortable out there. Feeling the flow and smelling the ice. When you just step out onto the ice, you just get this feeling and it feels really good.”
If the 32-year-old from Selkirk can replicate that feeling Sunday, her team will be a formidable foe for the semifinal winner.
“There’s a few things we could sharpen up on, but Kerri played unreal,” Sweeting said. “She’s been on a roll. It was incredible to watch out there. She lets it go and you know she’s making a good one.
“If anything, just keep her rolling.”
High stakes final
The Scotties Tournament of Hearts winner represents Canada at next month’s world championship in Prince George, B.C., and returns to next year’s Hearts in Thunder Bay, Ont., as Team Canada.
A berth in the 2021 Olympic trials also goes to the winner, as well as $105,000 of the $300,000 prize purse.
Three of the four on Einarson’s team have previous experience in Hearts finals with different rinks.
Einarson’s wild-card team lost to Jones in the 2018 finale. Birchard was Jones’s third that year substituting for regular vice Kaitlyn Lawes, who was playing mixed doubles in the Winter Olympics.
Sweeting skipped Alberta to back-to-back silver medals in 2014 and 2015. She lost to Jones in Moose Jaw in 2015.
“I’m grateful for the experience,” Sweeting said. “It’s also been pretty heartbreaking, so going to definitely leave everything I can out there.”
Manitoba scored deuces in the sixth and eighth against Jones ends to lead 5-3.
Einarson held Jones to a single point in the ninth to be up one coming home with last-rock advantage.
The Manitoba skip made her hit and roll for the win in the 10th.
Einarson skimmed her last stone of the eighth past a guard to tap for two.
‘They would just make a perfect shot’
She executed another tough tap in the sixth with her shooter just hanging onto the eight-foot rings for a second point.
“We would make one miss an end and they would just make a perfect shot,” Jones said. “We couldn’t get a deuce going. We had deuces set up and we just couldn’t capitalize on them.
“Hopefully we’ll capitalize on them tomorrow.”
Homan eliminated Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville 9-5 in Saturday’s playoff between the third and fourth seeds.
WATCH | Homan scores a triple with incredible raise double takeout:
Ontario’s Rachel Homan scores 3 in the 9th end with an amazing raise double takeout, goes on to beat Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville 9-5. 1:05
The first-team all-stars announced Saturday were Homan, Sweeting, Birchard and Ontario lead Lisa Weagle.
Einarson, Ontario third Emma Miskew and second Joanne Courtney and Team Canada lead Rachel Brown were named second-team all-stars.
Also, Curling Canada and TSN announced an extension of their broadcast rights contract for another eight years.
The agreement kicks in for the 2020-21 season through to 2027-28.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2020.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
