News Canadian Open

YORKTON, Sask. — Ottawa’s Rachel Homan kicked off her quest for the Meridian Canadian Open women’s title by dispatching Saskatoon’s Stefanie Lawton 8-2 Wednesday morning. 

Homan is looking to win her third consecutive Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling championship this season following title wins at the Masters and National.

Tied 1-1, Homan scored a deuce in the fourth to take the lead for good and stole four in the fifth to pull away. Lawton was held to a single in six and shook hands after Homan picked up another point in seven. Homan (1-0) stays in the A-side bracket of the triple knockout while Lawton (0-1) dropped to the B-side.

Elsewhere in Draw 2 action, Switzerland’s Binia Feltscher scored five in the third en route to a 9-4 victory in six ends over Sherry Middaugh of Coldwater, Ont.

Edmonton’s Kelsey Rocque rode the steal train to a 9-3 win over Anna Sidorova of Russia. Rocque snapped a 3-3 tie stealing two points in the fifth and swiped one in six and three in seven. 

Reigning Olympic champion Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg earned an 8-4 victory over Sweden’s Margaretha Sigfridsson in a rematch of the 2014 Sochi Winter Games gold-medal match. 

Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland downed Winnipeg’s Kristy McDonald 9-3. Tirinzoni, the Tour Challenge Tier 1 winner, scored a deuce in the second and stole two in three to lead 4-1. McDonald was held to singles in four and six, Tirinzoni added to her lead with another deuce in five and closed out with three in seven.

NOTES: The Meridian Canadian Open is the fourth stop — and third major — of the 2015-16 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season and runs through to Sunday. … The event features a triple knockout where teams must win three games before they lose three in order to qualify for the playoffs. … TV coverage of the Meridian Canadian Open begins Thursday at noon ET / 9 a.m. PT