Stern stuns Homan in extra end to win Canad Inns Women’s Classic
Elena Stern of Switzerland stole a point in the extra end to upset Ottawa’s Rachel Homan 7-6 and win the Canad Inns Women’s Classic title Sunday in Portage la Prairie, Man.
Stern, who skips while throwing third stones, is joined by fourth Briar Huerlimann, second Lisa Gisler and lead Celine Koller. The reigning Tour Challenge Tier 2 champions entered the week ranked 16th in the world and cashed in $15,000.
The 10-time Grand Slam champion Homan, ranked third in the world, clipped her first skip stone of the extra end on her guard and chipped her rock in the house on the way out. That allowed Huerlimann to draw another one into the four-foot circle to sit two and force Homan into a tricky draw to the button for the win. Homan touched the side of the button but didn’t grab enough to out count Stern’s shot rock.
Homan, third Emma Miskew, second Joanne Courtney and lead Lisa Weagle collected $10,000. It was just the second loss on the season for Homan, who holds an impressive 17-2 win-loss record with a semifinal finish at the Shorty Jenkins Classic and an undefeated run to the championship at the Colonial Square Ladies Classic.
It looked like Team Homan was on track for another perfect streak qualifying for the playoffs at 4-0 through the A event of the triple knockout preliminary round, scoring a 7-3 win over EunJung Kim of South Korea in the quarterfinals and a 6-5 decision over Kerri Einarson from Gimli, Man., in the semifinals.
Team Homan opened the final with the hammer and capitalized in the second end with an open draw for three points after Huerlimann hit a guard.
Stern bounced back scoring a deuce in three, forced Homan to a single in four, and added another two-pointer in six to tie it 4-4.
Homan counted a couple in seven to pull back into the lead, but Huerlimann made a game-saving triple takeout to lie two in the eighth and set up the equalizer. Homan’s attempt at a double only nudged the second Stern stone allowing Huerlimann to score two and force the extra end.
Team Stern, who lost 8-3 to Homan earlier in the week during triple knockout play, advanced to the playoffs out of the last-chance C brackets and went on a tear ousting Scotland’s Eve Muirhead 8-6 in the quarterfinals followed by compatriot/reigning world champion Silvana Tirinzoni 5-3 in the semis.
UP NEXT: The top 15 men’s teams and 15 women’s teams from around the world collide at the Masters, the first Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event of the season, in North Bay, Ont. The action begins Tuesday night with a Homan-Stern rematch scheduled for Draw 4 Wednesday afternoon in round-robin play.