Keiser steals win from Lawes in GSOC debut at Boost National
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Switzerland’s Team Raphaela Keiser picked up the victory in their Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling debut in the Boost National at Memorial Gardens.
Keiser, who skips and throws second in the order, scored two points in the seventh end and stole three in the eighth to swipe an 8-5 win from Canada’s Team Kaitlyn Lawes during Tuesday’s late afternoon action.
Even more impressive is Keiser, fourth Selina Witschonke and lead Marina Loertscher are playing as just a trio this week with third Elena Mathis (illness) out of the lineup.
Elsewhere in the draw, Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni trounced Canada’s Chelsea Carey 9-2 in six ends.
The three-time reigning world champion Tirinzoni rolled out by scoring three in the second, stealing one in the third and three in the fourth to pull away 7-0 at the break. Carey broke the shutout with a deuce in the fifth, however, Tirinzoni matched with a pair of points in the sixth for early handshakes.
Team Eun-Ji Gim of South Korea used some key steals as well to defeat Germany’s Team Daniela Jentsch. Gim stole singles in the second and fifth ends plus a pair of points in the sixth.
Team Tabitha Peterson of the United States topped Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg 5-3. Peterson broke a 1-1 tie with a crucial deuce in the third end that proved to be the difference maker. The teams alternated singles in the fifth and sixth then Hasselborg stole one in the seventh, but Peterson saved it with another single in the final frame.
UP NEXT
The Boost National action continues with Draw 4 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Broadcast coverage begins Thursday at 12 p.m. ET on Sportsnet, SN NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).
Round-robin play runs through to Friday with the quarterfinals and semifinals set for Saturday and both finals on tap Sunday.
NOTES
The Boost National is the first of six events on the 2022-23 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling calendar and features 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the world. … A combined $300,000 purse, split equally between the men’s and women’s divisions, is on the line. The winning teams receive $35,000 and invitations to the season-ending Kioti Tractor Champions Cup. … Points are also up for grabs in the race for the Pinty’s Cup, which is awarded to the 2022-23 season champions with a $75,000 bonus for the winning teams.
