Lawes fends off Tirinzoni for first win at KIOTI National
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Canada’s Team Kaitlyn Lawes topped Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni 5-4 in Draw 5 Wednesday at the KIOTI National.
Lawes held the hammer in the eighth end tied up and had to draw for a piece of the button for the winning single to improve to a 1-1 record.
The Winnipeg native Lawes returned this week from maternity leave after giving birth to her second daughter Ella on Nov. 1.
“It feels great,” Lawes said. “I’m just so happy to be back with the girls. We had a little bit of a tough one yesterday. I missed a few early that kind of cost us the game, so it was nice to be able to hang tough with the great Tirinzoni team and have the shot for the win.”
No pressure on her last shot, right?
“Missing my first one the way I did put a little extra pressure on, but it’s good,” Lawes said with a smile. “I got to throw that draw twice, which was really nice.”
Lawes, who is ranked No. 11 in the world, said she feels fantastic after only missing three events including the Co-op Canadian Open.
“If I wasn’t feeling good I wouldn’t have come back so soon. I had a really great delivery and my recovery is going well,” she said. “I’m just happy to be able to be on the ice with the team. They’ve been so great with me and travelling with a new baby.”
Lawes also praised the Mary Brown’s Centre crowd at the early morning draw.
“They were awesome,” Lawes said. “You could hear everyone cheering great shots. They were super supportive. It’s lots of fun to hear fans having a great time even at 8:30 in the morning.”
The world No. 2 Team Tirinzoni (1-1) successfully defended the gold medal last week at the European Curling Championships.
KIOTI NATIONAL: DRAW SCHEDULE / RESULTS | STANDINGS | BROADCAST SCHEDULE
In other games, Team Satsuki Fujisawa doubled up on Team Sayaka Yoshimura 6-3 in a matchup of Japanese clubs.
Fujisawa moved up to a 2-0 record while Yoshimura (0-2) is at the opposite end of the table and must win her next game to avoid early elimination.
Japan’s Team Momoha Tabata scored two in the eighth end to defeat Switzerland’s Team Xenia Schwaller 6-4. It was the first win in a Grand Slam major tournament for Team Tabata (1-1). Schwaller fell to a 0-2 record.
Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg scored three in the fourth and stole two in the fifth during a 6-2 win over Team Eun-ji Gim of South Korea. Hasselborg moved up to a 2-0 record with Gim level at 1-1.
UP NEXT
Round-robin play continues with Draw 6 at noon NT / 10:30 a.m. ET at the Mary Brown’s Centre.
Live streaming of every game is available on free preview via HomeTeam.
Broadcast coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ begins Thursday at noon NT / 10:30 a.m. ET.
NOTES
The KIOTI National is the third Grand Slam of Curling event of the 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. The top eight teams in both divisions advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. If necessary, one tiebreaker draw will be played Saturday morning to determine the final playoff spots. … The semifinals are also scheduled for Saturday with both finals on tap Sunday.
