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Jacobs set to start season at Shorty Jenkins Classic

It’s Week 4 of the World Curling Tour schedule but some teams are just warming up this weekend at the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic in Brockville, Ont.

Olympic gold medallists Brad Jacobs, Ryan Fry, E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden won the Shorty Jenkins Classic a year ago and the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., rink now looks to kick off the season defending the title.

Joining Jacobs in Brockville will be the two other skips from the podium of the Sochi Olympics: Scotland’s David Murdoch and Sweden’s Niklas Edin.

Murdoch sports the same lineup that won silver at Sochi in February while Edin, who took home the Olympic bronze medal, features an all-new squad consisting of Oskar Eriksson, Kristian Lindström and Christoffer Sundgren.

Both European teams continue their tours across Ontario after competing in the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard two weeks ago. The rinks faced off in the quarterfinals with Murdoch scoring a deuce in the seventh and stealing a point in the final end to earn a 5-4 comeback victory. A rematch has already been booked as they’ll meet in their final round-robin game (Draw 13) in Brockville.

Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton was a finalist at the past two Short Jenkins Classic events but has a fresh roster along for the ride this year. Stoughton, Rob Fowler, Alex Forrest and Connor Njegovan will play in their first tournament together and their first game right off the bat sees them matched up against Stoughton’s former teammate Mark Nichols, who reunited with 2006 Olympic champion Brad Gushue and his St. John’s rink during the off-season.

Glenn Howard, from Penetanguishene, Ont., heads to Brockville with lead Craig Savill and a new middle section featuring second Jon Mead and Richard Hart, who came out of retirement to rejoin the rink at third.

Two-time Shorty Jenkins Classic winner John Epping also returns but this time with a new roster of Travis Fanset, Patrick Janssen and Tim March. If that lineup sounds familiar it’s because they already had a head start together late last season at the Players’ Championship and reached the quarterfinals. That chemistry has continued this year as they were finalists at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard.

In the women’s division, Rachel Homan’s Ottawa rink will play its first tournament with Joanne Courtney, who relocated cross-country from Alberta to join the team at second. Homan, the two-time defending Canadian champion, won the Shorty Jenkins Classic in 2010.

Sochi Olympics bronze medallist and 2013 world champion Eve Muirhead will also feature her tweaked roster with Sarah Reid now throwing lead stones.

Top Ontario skips Sherry Middaugh from Coldwater, Thornhill’s Julie Hastings and Sudbury’s Tracy Horgan should also be in contention.

Valuable WCT points are up for grabs at the Shorty Jenkins Classic that could help some teams on the bubble with their chances of scoring invitations to the Grand Slam of Curling’s Masters tournament at the end of October.