Homan halts Wrana to pick up second win at Co-op Canadian Open
RED DEER, Alta. — Ottawa’s Team Rachel Homan improved to a 2-1 record in the Co-op Canadian Open after defeating Team Isabella Wranå of Sweden 7-3 Thursday at Servus Arena.
Homan almost ran out of time and gave up a steal to lose 6-5 to South Korea’s Team Eun-Jung Kim on Wednesday, but the 14-time Grand Slam of Curling women’s champion made no mistake with her final shots against Wranå.
“It feels good,” Team Homan third Tracy Fleury said. “It was a good battle out there, an exciting game, lots of rocks in play and we like that. I’m happy we got away with a win.”
It was the first loss of the week for Team Wranå, who also now sport a 2-1 record with one round-robin game remaining. Team Homan shot 93 per cent while Team Wranå were just as sharp shooting 92 per cent.
“They are good shooters and they have all the shots,” Fleury said. “They’ve got the draws, the big-weight hits, so we know we need to bring our best.”
With the score tied 3-3 coming home, Homan made a double takeout with her first skip stone to sit four and then connected on an open hit with her last to tack the big number on the board.
Fleury credited lead Sarah Wilkes for setting the table in the final frame.
“Sarah started us off well that end,” Fleury said. “She made a perfect tick, so they were in a little bit of trouble after that.”
Homan was hoping to score a bunch early with an in-off hit in the first but didn’t redirect it at the right angle and only counted one.
Wranå couldn’t capitalize in the third either as the reigning Players’ champion was aiming for a double takeout to count three. She ran it straight to miss the back Homan rock and only scored a single as well.
The missed opportunities continued into the fourth as Homan was unable to get around to Wranå’s rock in the four-foot circle as it held up for a steal.
Homan drew for a deuce in the fifth to take the lead back 3-2 and forced Wranå to draw for just a single while facing three counters in the sixth.
That gave Homan the hammer as her team maintained control blanking the seventh and setting the table in the eighth to score four.
CO-OP CANADIAN OPEN: SCORES / STANDINGS | DRAW SCHEDULE | BROADCAST SCHEDULE
Elsewhere in Draw 11, Anna Hasselborg and her Swedish squad (3-0) booked their spot in the quarterfinals with a big 9-3 win over Team Kate Cameron of Winnipeg.
Chelsea Carey is subbing at skip on Team Cameron, who fell to 0-3 and out of the mix.
Team Kim also earned a 9-3 decision against Team Delaney Strouse of the United States. Kim climbed to a 2-1 record while Strouse (0-3) has been eliminated from playoff contention.
South Korea’s Team Eun-Ji Gim moved up to 2-1 as well with a 6-3 win over Winnipeg’s Team Kaitlyn Lawes (1-2).
UP NEXT
The Co-op Canadian Open continues with Draw 12 at 10 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. MT on Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet+ (Canada) and gsoclive.com (international).
NOTES
The Co-op Canadian Open is the fourth event of the Grand Slam of Curling season featuring 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the world. … Round-robin play runs through to Friday evening with the best eight teams in both divisions advancing to Saturday’s quarterfinals. If necessary, a tiebreaker round will be played Saturday morning to determine the final playoff berths. … The semifinals are also on tap Saturday with both finals scheduled for Sunday.
