News Tour Challenge

CHARLOTTETOWN — Kaitlyn Lawes drew for two points in the eighth end to lift her Canadian club to a 4-3 victory over Team Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland during Draw 8 Wednesday evening in the HearingLife Tour Challenge.

Team Lawes, from Winnipeg, improved to a 2-0 record in the A Event of the triple knockout stage and will play South Korea’s Team Eun-ji Gim for a spot in the quarterfinals.

The loser will have at least two more chances to qualify through the B and C Events. Teams advance to the playoffs when they win three games before they lose three.

“We’re having a great time here in P.E.I. and we’re just having a lot of fun,” Lawes said. “We’re playing with a lot of confidence. I’m just enjoying my last event before my — hopefully — short maternity leave and it’s been great so far.”

Team Lawes has a contingency plan with alternate Becca Hebert ready to hop off the bench at a moment’s notice should she get the call.

“Becca’s great, she’s fantastic and we’re so lucky to have her on our team,” Lawes said. “She really feels like a part of the team and gives me peace of mind knowing that if something doesn’t feel right, if I’m not feeling well, then the girls are in really great hands.”

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HEARINGLIFE TOUR CHALLENGE: ONLINE STREAMING | TIER 1 RESULTS AND BRACKETS | TIER 2 RESULTS AND BRACKETS

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Lawes opened with the hammer but couldn’t convert as she blanked the first end and was forced to a single in the second.

Tirinzoni, who wrapped up last season capturing the Players’ Championship, took two in the third then held Lawes to another lone point to retake the hammer heading into the fourth-end break tied 2-all.

The defensive play continued through the second half as Tirinzoni blanked the fifth but was held to a single in the sixth. Lawes added more bagels on the board with another blank in the seventh to retain the hammer for the final frame. This time the two-point conversion was good.

“It feels great. It was a really good team game, really patient,” Lawes said. “We know it’s going to be a battle against Tirinzoni and the girls. They always play so well, so we were just glad we were able to hang tight and have a shot at the end for the win.”

Tirinzoni dropped to the B Event brackets with a 1-1 record.

Team Tabitha Peterson (2-0) of the United States is also one win away from advancing after earning an 8-5 victory over Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa (1-1).

Tabitha and her sister Tara Peterson are not playing this week as they are both on maternity leave. Third Cory Thiesse is skipping the squad with alternate Vicky Persinger and Aileen Geving in the lineup.

In B Event matches, South Korea’s Team Eun-jung Kim beat Scotland’s Team Rebecca Morrison 5-3 and Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg defeated Canada’s Team Chelsea Carey.

Kim and Hasselborg continue in the B brackets with 1-1 records while Morrison and Carey fell to the last-chance C Event at 0-2 and are facing elimination.

Alternate Johanna Heldin is playing second on Team Hasselborg for Agnes Knochenhauer, who is attending her sister’s wedding.

Carey is playing as three with second Emily Zacharias out of the lineup due to injury.

UP NEXT

The HearingLife Tour Challenge resumes Thursday with Draw 9 at 8:30 a.m. AT / 7:30 a.m. ET. Tickets are available at the box office and online at tourchallenge.goigniter.com. Online streaming is available here at thegrandslamofcurling.com.

Broadcast coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ begins with Draw 10 at 12 p.m. AT / 11 a.m. ET.

NOTES

The HearingLife Tour Challenge features 64 of the best men’s and women’s teams from around the world split into two tiers. … Tier 2 winners receive invitations to the WFG Masters in January. … Eight teams in each division qualify for Saturday’s quarterfinals … The semifinals are also scheduled for Saturday with the finals set for Sunday.