THUNDER BAY, Ont. — Rachel Homan's curling team battled both the ice and Kayla Skrlik's foursome and triumphed on both counts to stay unbeaten at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts on Sunday.
Homan downed Alberta's Skrlik 9-7 to be the only undefeated team atop Pool A at 3-0.
The victory was a grind for the defending champions and reigning world champions, however.
"We're still learning the ice and still getting some misses here and there, so just learning from them and trying to get better every game," Homan said.
"It's fairly straight just kind of everywhere, and then some spots more than others. We just kind of got to stay on top of every shot, because it can be a bit challenging for sure.
"Our sweepers, I made them work a lot that game, so kudos to them. I think that win's for them."
Four-time Hearts champion Kerri Einarson of Manitoba had the lone team without a loss in Pool A at 2-0 with a crowd at 2-1.
Einarson was a 10-2 winner over Yukon's Balyly Scoffin.
In the Pool A pack at 2-1, Ontario's Danielle Inglis doubled Quebec's Laurie St-George, Nova Scotia's Christina Black recovered from a loss to Yukon in the morning with a 7-6 win over Manitoba's Laitlyn Lawes, and Manitoba's Kate Cameron put a lopsided morning loss to Lawes behind her with a 15-4 trouncing of Brooke Godsland of Newfoundland and Labrador.
In Pool B, Skrlik, Saskatchewan's Nancy Martin, B.C.'s Corryn Brown and Alberta's Selena Sturmay were bunched at 2-1 behind Homan's Ottawa Curling Club side.
Einarson found the evening ice offered more rock movement than Homan had in the afternoon at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ont.
"Actually found some curl in there tonight, so speed was great, and it was curling a couple feet more, so that's good," the skip said.
Einarson won the third of four straight Hearts crowns in Thunder Bay in 2022 when COVID-19 restrictions kept fans out of the building until the final weekend.
Less than 500 were allowed in, but Einarson remembered they included her parents.
"It brings back so many memories," Einarson said. "I was thinking of seeing my dad jump over the rails the last time we were here, when after we won, and I was just like, envisioning that and seeing him celebrate.
"Right over the stair rails because there were people going down and he couldn't wait anymore. He just jumped over to give me a hug. My mom attempted to, but she was like 'no.'"
Black's draw to the eight-foot rings stopped just in time as Lawes fell to a record of 1-2.
"You do not want to have a two-loss day," said the Nova Scotia skip, who reached the Hearts final four two years ago. "We just struggled this morning and it was our worst game, I would say, since October."
Ontario's Inglis handed Quebec its first loss.
"It was a huge win for us," Inglis said. "We need to keep ourselves on the plus side of things, and we did need to bring them back as well, especially given some of the other results in our pool."
In the afternoon draw, Brown edged Saskatchewan's Nancy Martin back 7-6 in an extra end.
Sturmay recovered from an early 5-1 deficit against hometown team Krista McCarville of Northern Ontario to emerge a 10-6 winner.
"We have a lot of a lot of grit and determination on our team, which I think goes a long way," Sturmay said.
McCarville, who lost the 2022 Hearts final to Einarson, got little run support from her lineup in the game's back half and faced multiple Alberta stones with her final throws.
She was short of the rings with a draw in the ninth end to give up a devastating steal of four and fall to 0-3.
"We have to win out now," McCarville said. "We know we have to, and we're going to do everything we possibly can to win the next one."
New Brunswick's Melissa Adams doubled Nunvaut's Julia Weagle to get to 1-1 and drop Nunavut to 0-2 alongside Prince Edward Island's Jane DiCarlo in Pool A.
Yukon's Scoffin was 1-1 and Kerry Galusha of Northwest Territories 0-2 in Pool B.
The 18-team field is divided into two pools with the top three in each advancing to the championship round. The four Page playoff teams will emerge from that group of six.
The victor Feb. 23 will represent Canada at the world championship March 15-23 in Uijeongbu, South Korea.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2025.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
