Homan beats Muirhead to repeat as Masters champion
ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — Ottawa’s Rachel Homan successfully defended the Grand Slam of Curling’s Masters title defeating Eve Muirhead of Scotland 7-5 in the women’s final Sunday.
The foursome of Homan, Emma Miskew, Alison Kreviazuk and Lisa Weagle — who earned $23,000 CAD — now eye a berth in the 2014 Sochi Winter Games when the Canadian Olympic trials kick off next month in Winnipeg. Muirhead, who collected $14,000 CAD, has already booked a spot at the Olympics representing Great Britain.
Homan will have an opportunity to chase the $100,000 CAD Grand Slam bonus prize at the Players’ Championship in April if her team can sweep the two-event women’s series.
“We had a couple of losses early, but we were learning the ice and learning from our mistakes,” Homan told Sportsnet. “We just kept building, got a couple of breaks and took it one game at a time.”
Tied 2-2, Muirhead misplayed her final shot of the fourth end wrecking on a guard and gifting Homan an open hit and stick to score three to grab the lead. After splitting singles in five and six, Muirhead pulled within one with a deuce in the seventh. Homan held the hammer coming home and the reigning world champion Muirhead was unable to grab shot rock on her last to set up a potential steal.
The reigning Canadian champion and world bronze medallist Homan finished round-robin pool play with a 2-2 record and needed three consecutive wins Saturday to return the championship game. Homan defeated Winnipeg’s Chelsea Carey 5-1 in a tiebreaker, earned a 6-3 victory over Edmonton’s Heather Nedohin in the quarterfinals and doubled up on Switzerland’s Mirjam Ott 6-3 in the semifinals.
It was the second consecutive Grand Slam final for Muirhead, who became the youngest skip in series history to win a title at age 22 when she captured the Players’ Championship in April.
Earlier, Glenn Howard earned his sixth career Masters title and 13th Grand Slam as a skip defeating Kevin Martin 7-4 in the men’s final.
“We’re off to a great start, and to win a Grand Slam is the pinnacle,” Howard told Sportsnet. “You have the best of the best. All the best teams are here and to win that, you have to be doing something special.”
The Grand Slam of Curling season resumes with the Canadian Open, an 18-team men’s invitational running Nov. 13-17 in Medicine Hat, Alta.
