News National

CONCEPTION BAY SOUTH, N.L. — Robyn Silvernagle is still in the mix at the Boost National after edging Rachel Homan 7-6 Friday morning at CBS Arena.

Silvernagle’s squad from North Battleford, Sask., wrapped up round-robin play with a 2-2 record and awaits the results of the remaining draws on the day to determine their fate.

The defending champion Homan, who has won a record 10 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling women’s titles, dropped to 1-2 and must win her last group game in the afternoon against reigning Olympic gold medallists Team Anna Hasselborg.

After Homan opened the scoring with a deuce in the second, Silvernagle slid ahead with a four-ender in the third to grab a two-point lead. Homan, from Ottawa, tied it 4-4 with a deuce in the fourth end.

A couple of clutch shots highlighted the next pair of ends. Silvernagle pulled off a double raise takeout to count two in the fifth and Homan responded with a double takeout for another deuce in the sixth that kept things tight and knotted up 6-6.

Silvernagle blanked the seventh stanza to retain the hammer coming home and came through with a bump for a piece of the button to count the winning single in the eighth.

Calgary’s Team Chelsea Carey clipped Team Isabella Wrana of Sweden 5-4 in an extra end. Carey climbed to a 2-1 record while Wrana has been eliminated at 1-3.

Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat drew for three in the seventh and stole one in the eighth to double up on Team Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont., 6-3. Mouat, who captured the Boost National in 2017 and was runner-up here a year ago, improved to a 2-1 record. Howard, a winner of 14 GSOC titles as a skip, has missed the playoffs finishing 1-3 in round-robin play.

The top eight teams overall in both divisions advance to Saturday afternoon’s quarterfinals. The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday evening with both finals set for Sunday.

Boost National action continues at 12:30 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET) with broadcast coverage on Sportsnet and online streaming via Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).

NOTES: The Boost National is the third event and second major of the 2019-20 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season featuring 15 of the top men’s teams and 15 of the top women’s teams from around the world. Qualification is based on the WCF World Team Ranking system. … A $300,000 combined purse is on the line, split equally between both divisions, with the winners receiving $35,000 each plus berths to the season-ending Humpty’s Champions Cup in Olds, Alta. … Teams also earn points towards the Pinty’s Cup awarded to the season champions following the conclusion of the Players’ Championship in April.