Stoughton tops Ulsrud at Players’ Championship
TORONTO — Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton moved up to a 2-1 record at the Players’ Championship after defeating Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud 7-4 in Draw 11 Friday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Stoughton, who completed a career Grand Slam at the National in January, is guaranteed at least a tiebreaker and can improve his chances of qualifying with one round-robin game to go during the evening draw of the season finale.
Ulsrud, who finished round-robin play early at 2-2, scored a deuce in the first to open the scoring. Stoughton blanked the second to retain the hammer and capitalized in the third after Ulsrud couldn’t pull off a double takeout allowing the 2011 world champion to draw for three and the lead.
The 2010 Olympic silver medallist Ulsrud blanked the fourth but was forced to settle for a single in the fifth that tied it until Stoughton took two in the sixth to pull back ahead. Ulsrud could only manage to score one in the seventh and turned over the hammer to Stoughton for the final end where he tacked two more on the board.
Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen (3-0) eased his final rock into the house to score two in the eighth end and win 5-3 over Toronto’s Mark Kean (0-4). The victory clinched a playoff spot for McEwen, who finished runner-up to Stoughton at the National.
Toronto’s John Epping stole a point in the extra end to edge Joe Frans of Bradford, Ont., 7-6. Epping, who upset the field a year ago in Summerside, P.E.I. as the lowest-ranked seed, capped the round-robin portion at 2-2 to guarantee at least a tiebreaker and keep his title defence alive. Frans was eliminated at 1-3.
Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., must have thought he was playing tennis posting a bagel scoreline by shutting out Jim Cotter of Vernon, B.C., 6-0. All six of Jacobs’s points came off of single steals in six consecutive ends. The reigning Brier champion Jacobs now holds a 2-1 record. Cotter finished round-robin play at 2-2 and stay in contention.
In the women’s division, Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni (2-2) handed Sweden’s Margaretha Sigfridsson (3-1) her first loss of the tournament with an 8-5 decision.
