Constantini, Gim bring their ‘A’ game to qualify for HearingLife Tour Challenge playoffs
CHARLOTTETOWN — Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini and South Korea’s Team Eun-ji Gim were the first on the women’s side to punch playoff tickets in the HearingLife Tour Challenge.
Constantini came from behind to defeat Team Tabitha Peterson of the U.S. 7-6 and Gim got by Winnipeg’s Team Kaitlyn Lawes 7-4 during Draw 12 Thursday night at the Bell Aliant Centre.
The first Grand Slam of Curling event of the season features triple knockout — with A, B and C Event brackets — where teams must win three games before they lose three to advance to the quarterfinals. Constantini and Gim brought their “A” games as both squads went through the A Event undefeated at 3-0.
“Oh, it feels great,” Constantini said. “It’s the first Slam of the season, so it’s a really good start. But we have to remember that nothing is done, so just keep working. Tomorrow we have a practice on this beautiful ice and the day after tomorrow we will be ready for another good game.”
Constantini trailed 4-1 after three ends but cut the deficit to one with a deuce in the fourth as the momentum began to shift. Team Peterson, with third Cory Thiesse skipping, was forced to one in the fifth and Constantini pulled ahead 6-5 in the sixth. Constantini tapped off the pile around the four-foot circle and squeezed into the button to score a critical three-ender.
Team Peterson hit for a single in the seventh to tie it but lost the hammer for the final frame. Constantini didn’t need to throw her last as her team sat four stones in the house and Thiesse was unable to draw and outcount the first shot rock.
“I think my team supports me and support ourselves really well,” said Constantini, who captured gold at the 2022 Olympics in mixed doubles. “We had a slow start but then we really kept working and fighting to understand how to deal with the ice. At the break, we really did the turn, kept the momentum and I think we switched really good.”
Meanwhile, Gim was up 4-1 until Lawes pulled off a runback to score three points in the sixth end and tie it up.
The reigning KIOTI National champion Gim blanked the seventh to retain the hammer coming home and executed a double takeout with the last rock in the eighth to score a three count of her own.
Team Lawes and Team Peterson now hold 2-1 records and drop into Friday’s early afternoon B-qualifiers for another chance to move onto the quarterfinals. Lawes will play Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli in an all-Manitoba matchup while Team Peterson takes on Sweden’s Team Isabella Wranå.
Tabitha and her sister Tara Peterson are both on maternity leave. Thiesse has moved up to skip with Vicky Persinger and Aileen Geving entering the lineup at third and second.
In the C Event, Winnipeg’s Team Chelsea Carey got into the win column big time with a 10-1 rout over Team Delaney Strouse of the U.S., and Team Rebecca Morrison of Scotland edged Edmonton’s Team Selena Sturmay 4-3.
Carey and Morrison, both at 1-2, will play for at least another day. Carey clashes with Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa and Morrison meets Team Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland in Friday’s morning draw.
Team Carey is playing short-handed this week as second Emily Zacharias is out due to injury.
TIER 2
Victoria’s Team Kayla MacMillan and Team Sayaka Yoshimura of Japan made it to the Tier 2 women’s quarterfinals undefeated through the A Event.
MacMillan defeated Edmonton’s Team Serena Gray-Withers 6-2 and Yoshimura beat Calgary’s Team Kayla Skrlik 9-4.
In the C Event, Team Kate Cameron of St. Adolphe, Man., earned a 7-6 win over Japan’s Team Miyu Ueno and Regina’s Team Jolene Campbell completed a 7-6 comeback over Ottawa’s Team Danielle Inglis with elimination on the line.
Campbell, who was down 5-0 at the fourth-end break, scored four in the fifth end, stole two in the sixth to pull ahead and swiped another point in the seventh for insurance. Inglis was only able to count one in the eighth.
Gray-Withers plays Japan’s Team Momoha Tabata and Skrlik takes on Japan’s Team Ikue Kitazawa in the B-qualifiers.
Cameron faces Winnipeg’s Team Beth Peterson and Campbell goes up against Halifax’s Team Christina Black in the C-semifinals and needing two more wins to move on.
UP NEXT
Triple knockout play continues Friday with Draw 13 at 8:30 a.m. AT / 7:30 a.m. ET.
Tickets are available at tourchallenge.goigniter.com and online streaming for all Tier 1 games is available here at thegrandslamofcurling.com.
Broadcast coverage resumes at Noon AT / 11 a.m. ET on Sportsnet One and Sportsnet+.
NOTES
The HearingLife Tour Challenge features 64 of the best men’s and women’s teams from around the world split into two tiers. … Tier 2 winners receive invitations to the WFG Masters in January. … Eight teams in each division qualify for Saturday’s quarterfinals … The semifinals are also scheduled for Saturday with the finals set for Sunday.
