Defending champion Homan, Alberta's Skrlik, B.C.'s Brown prep for playoffs at Scotties

CBC

21-02-2025

Defending champion Rachel Homan carried an unbeaten record into the Scotties Tournament of Hearts playoffs, while Alberta and B.C. locked in their playoff seedings Thursday.
Homan capped Pool A play with an 8-0 record after an 8-4 win over Alberta's Selena Sturmay.
Alberta's Kayla Skrlik and B.C.'s Corryn Brown both finished 6-2 with Skrlik ranked higher because of a win over Brown in the preliminary round.
Skrlik downed Nunavut's Julia Weagle 7-4 and Brown beat Prince Edward Island's Jane DiCarlo 9-2 in the final Pool A draw.
The top three teams in each pool advance to the championship round of six Friday when that half-dozen will battle for four Page playoff berths.
Pool B's playoff picture was still muddy heading into the evening draw with Manitoba's Kerri Einarson, Ontario's Danielle Inglis, Nova Scotia's Christina Black and Quebec Laurie's St-Georges the front-runners.
Defending champion Homan clinches playoff spot, Quebec, Ontario in the hunt at Scotties
Sunday's winner at the Fort William Gardens represents Canada at the world championship March 15-23 in Uijeongbu, South Korea, and earns $100,000 in prize money.
Homan wanted her Ottawa Curling Club team to both finish pool play strong and continue scouting rock movement and ice behaviour heading into the next round.
"It was the opportunity to play on those middle sheets, learn the ice and the rocks, how we need to play moving forward," said Homan.
"Unfortunately, it's pretty straight out there. Can be a bit frustrating at times, but this is the ice conditions that we have in this building. Just learning to love them as much as we can and learn them as best we can, how we need to sweep them, how to approach shots and just trying to stay in the moment of every rock."
The top two seeds in each pool cross over and meet Friday afternoon with the winners moving onto Saturday's Page playoff between the top two seeds.
The losers take on the third seed in the opposite pool with those victors advancing to the Page playoff between the third and fourth seeds.
Skrlik skipped a slightly different lineup to a 4-4 record in her Hearts debut two years ago in Kamloops, B.C.
With Margot Flemming coming on board for this season at third, sister Ashton and Geri-Lynn Ramsay shifting positions and the latter holding the broom for Skrlik, the Garrison Curling Club foursome out of Calgary played 13 events this season to forge team chemistry.
Skrlik reached the final of September's single knockout PointsBet Invitational in Calgary where the team fell 8-3 to Homan.
"I think this is our 79th or 80th game of the season, so we've played a lot," said Skrlik. "It's been very, very beneficial this year, with Margot being new in the lineup, Ashton being in a new position, and Geri-Lyn being in a new position.
"We've gone from our first time showing up, playing the Scotties, not playing almost a single team in the field, to playing quite a few of these teams. It's really, really paid off."
Flemming played through a bad cold Thursday. Ramsay sat out the team's opener in Thunder Bay, Ont., with the flu.
Illness has struck a few teams in the tournament with Nunavut down to three players against Skrlik on Thursday.
Brown, who is almost six months pregnant, reached the playoffs for the first time in the tournament's current format.
Her Kamloops Curling Club lineup includes Erin Pincott, Sarah Koltun and Samantha Fisher.
"This is the most relaxed we've ever played," Brown said. "I don't think any of us have really felt kind of the nerves. We've had some really good kind of guidance from [coach] Jim [Cotter] and our sports psychologist Tracey Bilsky, to kind of guide us through that.
"We've set up kind of a really good foundation throughout the season. We've been able to implement that this week."
Fisher topped all leads at 93 per cent shooting accuracy in pool play.
"All the girls have played really well all week, but I think it really starts with our lead," said Brown.
"The lead can either make it really hard or really easy, and Sam's done a fabulous job all week to kind of lead the way for us and really kind of put us in a really good position in all games."
Homan, Mouat teams to clash in battle of sexes
Homan and Scotland's Bruce Mouat will clash in curling's battle of the sexes in Toronto.
The top-ranked women's and men's teams in the world square off in the Rio Mare Battle of the Sexes on April 7 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre a day before the final Grand Slam of the season.
The AMJ Players' Championship is in the same arena April -13.
The eight-end skins game will feature celebrity coaches, guest appearances and unique rule twists, The Curling Group said Thursday in a statement.
A portion of ticket proceeds and $1,000 per end will go to each team's charity of choice.
"Knowing that our funds from this event will go to the Sandra Schmirler Foundation makes it even more special," Homan said in a statement.
Mouat's chosen charity was Charlie Boy's Cancer Fundraiser.
"We know Team Homan will bring their A-game, but we're ready for a battle," Mouat said.
Homan's 52-4 season as of Thursday included securing the top seed in her team's pool at the Canadian women's curling championship in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Her team was attempting back-to-back titles at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The final is Sunday.