Homan ‘had to battle’ for sixth win of week
Hometown favourite beats Sweeting to move one step closer to Olympic berth
Rachel Homan guaranteed herself at least a tiebreaker for a playoff spot at the Roar of the Rings.
The pride of Ottawa posted her sixth consecutive victory Thursday, defeating Val Sweeting of Vegreville, Alta., 7-5 Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre.
Homan, 6-1, is in sole possession of second spot behind 6-0 Chelsea Carey.
The latest victory didn’t have quite the same drama as Wednesday’s come from behind win over Casey Scheidegger. Just the same, Homan needed to deliver a little finesse, a last shot draw to the button, to secure the victory.
She celebrated with a sigh of relief, as opposed to the fist pump she delivered with her winning double-takeout shot on Wednesday.
“We had to make some big shots to win,” said Homan, talking about the latest victory, as well as the five earlier triumphs.
“We’ve had to battle back. We’ve had to win a lot of different ways. We love it. We love the adversity. Other teams are making everything and we’ve had to battle hard.”
Homan, once again receiving the healthy support of the hometown crowd, was up 5-2 after four ends.
She nursed the game home from there — with a hiccup or two along the way — to put her rink in solid position for an extended weekend, keeping alive the ultimate hope of an Olympic berth.
Carey, who somehow pulled a rabbit out of the hat to steal a victory over Julie Tippin Thursday afternoon, is a perfect 6-0. She also owns a tiebreaker edge over Homan, based on handing Homan a loss on Saturday.
Homan closes out the round robin with a much-anticipated Friday night showdown against 2014 Olympic champion Jennifer Jones.
Jones was breathing easier earlier in the week, but after losing to Krista McCarville Thursday, her second consecutive defeat, she has a 5-2 record and is guaranteed nothing just yet. McCarville, now 4-2, is the only other rink in contention for a playoff spot.
Homan seemed to be on easy street, on cruise control, with a 5-2 lead after four ends.
But as we’ve learned with so many late comebacks earlier this week, nothing should ever be taken for granted.
Homan missed a draw in the eighth end, allowing Sweeting to steal a point to narrow the gap to 6-5.
“Momentum can definitely turn quickly,” said Emma Miskew, Homan’s third. “Just like in that eighth end. If we take one there, versus that steal — we still don’t really know what happened to Rachel’s shot there — it’s a completely different game and that made it that much closer. Just one shot can often really turn the game into a different momentum shift, for sure.”
The game had far bigger implications for Sweeting, who needed to keep winning to keep her faint playoff hopes alive.
After losing her first three games to start the trials, the left-throwing Sweeting roared back to win three in a row before meeting Homan.
All the while, Sweeting realized just one more loss would eliminate her playoff hopes.
The game didn’t begin exactly as planned for Homan, who failed in her attempt to blank the first end, scoring one after a head-on hit with her final stone.
Sweeting took advantage by scoring two in the second end.
But a pair of miscues by Sweeting, coupled with key shots by Homan and third Emma Miskew, allowed the Ottawa rink to score three in third, up 4-2.
A Sweeting miss in the fourth end allowed Homan to steal yet another, in control with a 5-2 lead.
Yet it wasn’t over just yet. There were a few nail-biting moments for Homan and her faithful fans in the seats.
Earlier in the day, Ottawa product John Morris was doing his best to play the role of spoiler against the undefeated Kevin Koe.
Morris, who now curls out of Canmore, Alta., hung around long enough to put some fear into Koe.
Ultimately, though, Morris raised his broom in tribute to his foe’s abilities in a 7-4 defeat.
“We had a great start, played them real tough and Koe wasn’t missing much that game,” Morris said. “We were right there with him for most of the match and they were just a little more determined than us.”
Morris says Koe’s rink is the best team they’ve played this week.
“To win this thing, you’ve got to have great curlers and you also have a special refuse to lose (attitude) and some determination and we haven’t had that lately. A few other teams have that.
“That has been the difference this year and this week.”
Morris, who is 1-5, recognized he had no hope of making the playoffs coming into the game. That, however, didn’t change his focus one bit.
“Right now we’re playing for pride and there’s no way I will ever roll over and go down without swinging. You owe it to yourself and the sport to make sure you come and play. There are other teams counting on you.”