Homan clinches Rogers Grand Slam Cup early at Players’ Championship
TORONTO — Ottawa’s Rachel Homan locked up the women’s Rogers Grand Slam Cup following an 8-3 victory over Winnipeg’s Kerri Einarson during Draw 4 of the Players’ Championship Wednesday afternoon.
Team Homan was able to clinch the Rogers Grand Slam Cup early thanks to a sensational season winning three consecutive Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling titles this season taking the Masters, National and Canadian Open. They entered the Players’ Championship with a 23-point lead and needed just two round-robin wins for the trophy.
It was a good day at the office overall for Team Homan as they climbed to a 2-0 record with a 7-3 win over Tracy Fleury of Sudbury, Ont., earlier Wednesday and clinched the $75,000 bonus.
“It’s kind of nice now we can go out to our other games with a little less pressure,” Team Homan third Emma Miskew said. “Obviously when someone tells you that you have to win two games, you think, ‘Okay that’s doable,’ but until you get out there and realize all of these teams are really tough and you really want to get those two wins out of the way. Now we can just cruise along. We’ve never won the Players’ Championship so that’s our next goal.”
Homan scored deuces in the first and third ends and iced the match with a four-ender in the sixth. Einarson settled for a single in the second and took two in the fourth as the Tour Challenge Tier 2 winner now has a 1-1 record.
“It’s good to start off with a two-win day,” Miskew said. “They were tough games out there and we’re still learning the ice a little bit. We’re happy to come out with 2-0 and looking forward to tomorrow.”
Five-time Players’ Championship winner Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg also moved up to 2-0 scoring a deuce in the seventh for a 4-2 victory over Alina Paetz of Switzerland.
Anna Sidorova (1-0) of Russia edged Edmonton’s Val Sweeting (0-1) with a single in the eighth to win 5-4.
Fleury improved to a 1-1 record with a 7-5 comeback victory over reigning Canadian champion Chelsea Carey of Calgary. Fleury scored two in the eighth and stole a pair in the extra end when Carey (0-2) came up light on her draw shot.
In men’s division action, David Murdoch of Scotland also came from behind with a deuce in eight and a steal of two in the extra to beat American John Shuster 8-6. Murdoch now holds a 1-1 record while Shuster dropped to 0-2.
NOTES: The Players’ Championship is the fourth major and sixth event of the 2015-16 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season and runs through to Sunday at Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre. … Television coverage begins Thursday on Sportsnet. … The Rogers Grand Slam Cup men’s winner has yet to be determined. … Winners of the Players’ Championship earn berths to the season-ending Humpty’s Champions Cup running April 26 to May 1 in Sherwood Park, Alta.
