Sturmay ‘super excited’ to be in contention at backyard Co-op Canadian Open
NISKU, Alta. — Edmonton’s Selena Sturmay has flipped the script to turn her team’s fortunes around close to home at Co-op Canadian Open.
After a 0-2 start, Sturmay earned a second straight win Friday morning, rolling past Winnipeg’s Team Chelsea Carey 8-1 in only five ends, to draw her record level.
Sturmay, who is playing in just her third top-tier Grand Slam event, said she’s “super excited” her team — featuring third Danielle Schmiemann, second Dezaray Hawes and lead Paige Papley — is in contention with fans in the stands at the Silent Ice Center.
“Having not even just people we know come and watch us but people from the community is amazing,” Sturmay said. “I was born and raised in Leduc, this arena is in Leduc county, so I’m seeing a lot of old and familiar faces. Same thing with Paige. She was born and raised in Beaumont, which is just like five or 10 minutes away.
“It’s definitely a cool experience seeing a lot of old faces and new faces and it’s just been amazing.”
Sturmay had a tough start to her schedule falling to HearingLife Tour Challenge winner Team Kerri Einarson and runner-up Team Rachel Homan then picked up a victory over Team Isabella Wranå to get the ball rolling.
“I’m just thankful that the girls have been patient with me,” Sturmay said. “I missed quite a few key shots early on this week and did some tweaks here and there. I think at the end of the day, it really just came down to me making more shots early on the game.”
Sturmay settled for a single in the second to open the scoring against Carey and then rode away with steals of four in the third and three in the fourth. Carey, who is also at 2-2, broke the shutout in the fifth and shook hands.
One more women’s round-robin draw, plus two more on the men’s side, are on tap before the playoff pictures and tiebreakers will take shape.
“I think we’re guaranteed at least a tiebreaker, so we’re just looking to continue on the upward trend and soak in the experience of playing these great teams,” Sturmay said. “Just keep trending upwards.”
Elsewhere in Draw 13, Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini (3-1) qualified for the playoffs with a 7-4 win over Switzerland’s Team Xenia Schwaller (1-3).
South Korea’s Team Eun-jung Kim (3-1) is also through to the quarterfinals after defeating Team Einarson 9-4.
Einarson, from Gimli, Man., is still in contention for now with a 2-2 record.
Team Sayaka Yoshimura is also hanging around at 2-2 following a 7-4 decision against Team Momoha Tabata (0-4) in a matchup of Japanese clubs.
UP NEXT
Round-robin play resumes at 2 p.m. ET / noon MT. Watch on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
Online streaming for every game is available in free preview at thegrandslamofcurling.com.
NOTES
The Co-op Canadian Open is the second Grand Slam of Curling event of the season featuring 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the world. … The top eight teams advance to the playoffs. If necessary, one tiebreaker draw will be played Saturday morning. … The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday with both finals on tap Sunday.
