Undefeated Homan takes top seed for Co-op Canadian Open playoffs
NISKU, Alta. — Canada’s Team Rachel Homan claimed the No. 1 seed for the Co-op Canadian Open women’s quarterfinals after defeating Sweden’s Team Isabella Wranå 5-4 Friday.
The 15-time Grand Slam title winner from Ottawa wrapped up round-robin play as the only one in the women’s division to carry an unblemished 4-0 record into the playoffs.
“It feels great,” Team Homan second Emma Miskew said. “That was a battle. We got to play on every sheet, thankfully, so we have some information heading into the playoffs and hopefully keep it going.”
Down by one with the hammer coming home, Homan had to make a nose hit with zero room for error to avoid making contact with her second stone around the eight-foot circle. It was close on the measure, but Homan was awarded the second point and the victory.
“It was a tricky hit,” Miskew said. “We could not move our rock at all. We didn’t know for sure who was shot but it was close enough that it was worth trying to hope for the measure. It was a good line call and we managed to just squeak it out.”
It’s a special week for Homan, who lives nearby in Beaumont, and helped bring the event to the Silent Ice Center by suggesting the venue as a potential host to the Grand Slam of Curling.
“It’s been great, this is such a nice facility,” said Miskew, whose team captured gold last week at the Pan Continental Curling Championships in Lacombe, Alta. “We’re really happy to be playing here. We’re coming off of another event too, so just fighting the fatigue a little bit but it’s been great overall.”
Wranå finished at 1-3 and missed the playoffs.
Elsewhere, Canada’s Team Kaitlyn Lawes (2-2) edged Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa 7-5 to stay in the mix.
Third Selena Njegovan is skipping the Winnipeg-based club with Kaitlyn Lawes away on maternity leave. Lawes gave birth to her second daughter Ella last week.
Njegovan had to make a high-pressure draw against five counters to tie it up in the seventh then stole two in the eighth as Fujisawa (3-1) held the hammer coming home, but her shooter rolled right through the house.
“It feels good,” said Jocelyn Peterman of Team Lawes. “We needed to win that obviously and Selena was playing unbelievable. It’s kind of fun to win one like that where she’s making everything.”
Peterman has also moved up from second to third and is enjoying her temporary role and seeing the game from a new perspective.
“I’ve never played third before,” Peterman said. “I always skipped in juniors, my whole junior career, and then went to second. I’m having a lot of fun. It’s different and a fun challenge, but I’m really liking it.”
Team Lawes will play Winnipeg’s Team Chelsea Carey in a tiebreaker Saturday morning.
South Korea’s Team Seung-youn Ha (3-1) advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-4 win over Team Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland. Tirinzoni (2-2) will face Japan’s Team Sayaka Yoshimura in a tiebreaker.
Japan’s Team Ikue Kitazawa ended on a high note with a 9-6 victory over South Korea’s Team Eun-ji Gim. Both teams missed the playoffs with 1-3 records.
UP NEXT
The final men’s round-robin draw gets underway at 10 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. MT. Watch on Sportsnet One 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. … The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday with both finals on tap Sunday.
