Eight Ends: Slow start, strong finish for Simmons

A jam-packed week of curling is on the horizon with another Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling qualification deadline fast approaching.

The top 14 men’s teams and top 14 women’s teams based on the World Curling Tour’s order of merit total ranking system as of next Tuesday will be invited to the National, running Nov. 10-15 at the General Motors Centre in Oshawa, Ont.

As we’ve seen over the past few weeks, there could be some activity among the teens that shake up some spots.

Let’s dive into all of the story lines in our 8 Ends:

1st End: Team Simmons shake off slow start to win in Vernon

Reigning Brier champs Team Pat Simmons opened their season with a 0-2 record at the Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic in Vernon, B.C., and quickly fell to the C-side of the tournament.

As the old saying goes though, it’s not how you start but how you finish and the Calgary-based rink rolled off two consecutive wins to qualify. Simmons topped Brent Pierce 6-3 in the quarterfinals and beat Sean Geall 6-1 to set up a rematch against Dean Joanisse, who came out on top in their A-side game. Team Simmons cruised through the final on Monday 6-1 to capture the title.

That’s more like it for Team Canada.

2nd End: Gushue is just out here winning again

Another game for Team Brad Gushue.

The St. John’s rink continued their hot start to the season winning the Swiss Cup Basel in the Curling Champions Tour series Sunday.

That’s now back-to-back wins as they claimed their third championship of 2015-16 as well as their fifth final appearance through five events. Of course, this calls for a table:

EVENT	RECORD	RESULT
Uiseong International Curling Tour	5-2	Finalist
Stu Sells Oakville Tankard	6-0	Champion
Tour Challenge Tier 1	5-2	Finalist
Shorty Jenkins Classic	8-0	Champion
Swiss Cup Basel	8-1	Champion
	32-5

Can they make it three wins in a row? Well …

3rd End: Curling through the 6ix

Team Gushue is set to compete in the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard this weekend, but so are a few of the other top men’s teams in the world.

Just a quick glance at the lineup and you might think it’s a Pinty’s GSOC event with Team Mike McEwen, Team Brad Jacobs, Team Reid Carruthers, Team Niklas Edin, Team John Epping, Team Glenn Howard, etc., in play.

It’s going to be tough for Gushue, but given their strong start so far it’s a good bet they’ll be on the ice Thanksgiving night.

4th End: Lawton leaps in the OOM

Back to Vernon where Team Stefanie Lawton came out on top on the women’s side at the Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic.

The Saskatoon-based rink dropped their opening draw match to Team Shannon Kleibrink, but didn’t lose again from there out as they earned seven consecutive wins including a 5-4 victory over Team Chelsea Carey in the final.

Team Lawton jumped 11 spots up to 18th on the World Curling Tour’s total order of merit and it’s only a matter of time until they’re back on the Pinty’s GSOC circuit.

Also making strides on the OOM list thanks to playoff appearances in Vernon were Team Kelsey Rocque (from 14th to 11th), Team Kerri Einarson (20th to 16th) and Team Jamie Sinclair (22nd to 19th).

5th End: Bernard back in action

The Vernon event also saw the return of Calgary’s Cheryl Bernard and her 2010 Olympic silver medal-winning team.

Bernard stepped back from competitive curling last year and her rink didn’t miss a beat posting a 5-0 round-robin record to qualify. Team Bernard came up short in the quarterfinals, Team Einarson scored a 6-3 win, but it was still great to see they still had it.

6th End: Around the world

The Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic takes place in Calgary this weekend. Team Jennifer Jones, Team Rachel Homan and Team Sweeting headline the field but the intriguing battle will be between Team Carey and Team Tracy Fleury.

Team Carey is 14th on the WCT’s OOM total ranking thanks to their runner-up finish in Vernon and will look for another strong result in their hometown. Team Fleury did not compete last weekend and slipped two spots to 15th, but the Sudbury, Ont., rink is only about 1/10th of a point behind Team Carey. Both teams could leap in the OOM standings like Team Rocque did this past week.

Overseas is another high-profile women’s tournament: the Women’s Masters Basel in Switzerland featuring Scotland’s Team Eve Muirhead, Russia’s Team Anna Sidorova as well as Swiss rinks Team Binia Feltscher, Team Alina Paetz and Team Silvana Tirinzoni. Team Sherry Middaugh of Coldwater, Ont., is the lone Canadian rink among the field.

On the men’s side, Team Kevin Koe look to defend the Direct Horizontal Drilling Fall Classic in Edmonton while the St. Paul Cash Spiel goes down in St. Paul, Minn.

7th End: Masters draw schedule now available

In case you missed it, the draw schedule for the 2015 Masters was released Monday.

Defending champs Team Gushue will kick off the event taking on Team John Epping of Toronto in the opening draw, which also features Halifax’s Team Shawn Adams and Team Mary-Anne Arsenault.

The Masters runs Oct. 27 to Nov. 1 at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre in Truro N.S., click here for ticket information.