CALGARY – Krysten Karwacki wasn’t expecting to see this much ice time at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts this week in Calgary.
It’s safe to say nobody had that on their bingo card.
“As an alternate you always have to be prepared to play for anybody and be ready to handle anything at anytime,” Karwacki told TSN.ca on Sunday. “So, even though I’m sitting on the bench most of the time, I’m always ready to take on whatever the team needs me to do.”
Karwacki, a 32-year-old freelance social media manager, has served as Team Kerri Einarson’s alternate at the past three Scotties and World Women’s Curling Championships, only playing sparingly from time-to-time near the end of blowout wins.
When they hit the ice at Winsport Arena to begin their pursuit of a record fifth consecutive Canadian women’s curling championship, Karwacki was the player throwing lead stones for the rink out of the Gimli Curling Club.
And with continued radio silence from Team Einarson as well as Curling Canada on Harris’ situation, it would appear Karwacki will be staying on the ice as the team’s full-time lead for the time being.
“I’m just focused on what I need to do this week,” she said. “I have really big shoes to fill with Brianne. So my focus is just on that and making my shots and doing my best to help the team win.”
During the Tour season, Karwacki plays lead for Saskatchewan’s Team Nancy Martin, who were just one win away from representing the province at this year’s Scotties but fell to Team Skylar Ackerman in the playdown final.
Karwacki played over 50 games with Team Martin this season before arriving in Calgary for the Scotties.
“The more I’m on the ice the better,” explained the Winnipeg native, who is shooting 86 per cent over the first three games. “The more we’ve played the past year has definitely helped me.”
Team Canada’s roller-coaster week at the Tournament of Hearts continued Sunday afternoon with a tough 8-6 loss to Alberta’s Team Selena Sturmay.
After a slow start – including allowing four points in the third end – Team Einarson were able to pick things up in the second half with consecutive steals and had a shot to send it to an extra end but couldn’t execute.
It was just their seventh loss at the Scotties since 2020 in Moose Jaw, the year they captured the first of four straight national championships.
Team Einarson shot 88 per cent in their opening win over Quebec on Friday and 86 per cent on Saturday in a victory over Northern Ontario. They fell to 74 per cent against Alberta on Sunday.
“Bit of topsy-turvy game. I think we were all a little bit frustrated after the first couple ends and not really stringing many shots together, so I thought we turned it around in a great way,” second Shannon Birchard said after the game. “We figured out the ice. I think there’s a lot of positives that we can take forward into our next game. Disappointed we didn’t come out with a win, but we battled hard and took it to 10 ends. They [Team Sturmay] were a formidable team today.”
Despite playing with a new sweeping partner, Birchard says the team’s familiarity with Karwacki has made the transition a little more easy to handle.
“Krysten has been with our team for a long time,” said Birchard. “She’s actually fit in quite well. She’s played with us a lot, practiced with us a lot. Obviously, it’s a little bit of a switch and we have to get used to each other a little bit as we both played on different teams through the season, but she’s fit in amazing and she’s doing great out there.”
Karwacki said she’s felt the support from her teammates during this unusual situation.
“We’re really good friends off the ice and they’ve been helping with a few tips along the way, so they’ve been really great,” she said.
Canada and British Columbia’s Team Corryn Brown are currently tied for the third and final playoff spot in Pool A with identical 2-1 records. They will play each other Sunday morning in Draw 7 action from Calgary.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
BRUSSELS – Canadian shot putter Sarah Mitton rebounded from a disappointing performance at the Paris Olympics by capturing Diamond League gold on Friday.
Mitton, of Brooklyn, N.S., won the competition, the final Diamond League event of the season, with a heave of 20.25 metres on her third throw.
Chase Jackson of the U.S. placed second with a throw of 19.90, while German’s Yemisi Ogunleye, the Olympic gold medallist, claimed bronze with a toss of 19.72.
Mitton, the runner-up of last year’s world championship, failed to qualify for the top eight in Paris.
Edmonton runner Marco Arop, who won silver for Canada in the men’s 800 metres at the Paris Games, was scheduled to race in the 800 on Saturday.
Olympic bronze-medallist Alysha Newman, of London, Ont., also competes Saturday in the women’s pole vault.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
