News National

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones has kept her winning streak rolling in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling.

Jones made quick work of Alina Paetz shutting out the Swiss side 7-0 in just four ends during Tuesday’s opening draw of the BOOST National at the Essar Centre.

The reigning Olympic champion picked up where she left off after posting a perfect 7-0 record last month to win the Masters women’s title.

“It’s hard to get a win in a Grand Slam, so it’s nice to have your first game, get out there, play well and pick up the W,” said Jones, who has captured a record eight Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling women’s titles. “We’re pretty happy with the start.”

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Jones jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first end splitting the rings for a textbook deuce and capitalizing for another point. Paetz’s last sailed cleanly through the house allowing Jones to ease in her final stone for three points.

Paetz, who defeated Jones in the 2015 world championship final, fell into trouble in the second end with her last rolling heavy to give up a couple and trail 5-0. Things went from bad to worse for Paetz as she continued to struggle giving up single steals in three and four and shook hands quickly.

“We got a couple of misses out of them early, took advantage of them and kept putting some pressure on them,” Jones said. “I was happy with how the team played.”

Team Jones changed up the lineup for the game with alternate Jennifer Clark-Rouire subbing for lead Dawn McEwen. Second Jill Officer and third Kaitlyn Lawes remained in their regular throwing roles although Clark-Rouire also handled house duties during skip stones.

“She’s coming with us to the Trials, so we wanted to get her into some games just to see what it’s all about,” Jones explained. “She played great and it’s always fun to have her out there.”

Elsewhere, Edmonton’s Val Sweeting picked up a 9-5 victory over two-time world champion Binia Feltscher of Switzerland.

China’s Bingyu Wang defeated Allison Flaxey of Caledon, Ont., in a 6-3 set.

In the lone men’s division game, Chang-Min Kim of South Korea was victorious in his Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling debut. Kim, who will represent the host nation at the 2018 Winter Olympics, beat Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers 7-3.

The BOOST National is the third event and second major of the 2017-18 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season and features 15 of the top men’s teams and 15 of the top women’s teams from around the globe.

Round-robin play runs through to Friday with the top eight on each side qualifying for the weekend playoffs.

TV coverage begins Thursday at Noon ET on Sportsnet and online at Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and gsoc.yaretv.com (international).