Homan beats Constantini to remain unbeaten at worlds
When coach Don Bartlett started working with Rachel Homan’s team this season, he wanted the foursome to aim for a winning percentage of at least 80 per cent.
Mission more than accomplished so far.
Homan (5-0) edged Italy’s Stefania Constantini 8-7 in an extra end on Tuesday to remain unbeaten at the world women’s curling championship and extend her overall win streak to 21 games.
The Ottawa-based side also improved to 54-5 on the campaign for an eye-popping victory clip of 92 per cent.
“It’s just an incredible run,” Bartlett said. “It just goes to show you (what can happen) if you work hard.”
Homan and teammates Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew and Sarah Wilkes forced the Italians to a single in the 10th end and secured the win in the 11th when Constantini’s final throw overcurled, leaving the Canadian rock as shot stone.
“Unfortunately we didn’t manage the shot so well,” Constantini said. “But I think it was a good game and we’ll just keep moving forward.”
The Canadians will return to Centre 200 in the evening for a marquee matchup against defending champion Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland (5-0).
Tirinzoni, who has won four straight world titles, took a 41-game winning streak at this competition into her afternoon game against Norway’s Marianne Roervik.
Canada shot 86 per cent to Italy’s 84 per cent in the back-and-forth battle. Fleury was slightly off in the early going - she shot a game-low 72 per cent - as Italy scored deuces in the first and fifth ends and took a 4-3 lead into the break.
Homan regained the lead with a pair in the sixth and added singles in the seventh and ninth ends. Her squad put the pressure on in the 10th while up one without hammer.
Canada sat five after Homan’s last throw, forcing the Italians to make a draw to force an extra end.
“We stuck together,” Homan said. “We figured out the rocks and the ice. Once we did that, we started making more shots.”
Fleury rebounded late, making all four of her shots over the last two ends. Her final peel in the 11th left Italy without guards in play. Constantini’s final throw - a soft raise attempt - stopped short and Homan didn’t need to return to the hack.
“You’re going to get games like this where you’re not quite sharp and you’ve got to rely a little bit too much on your skip,” Bartlett said. “But Rachel is the best skip in the world. Her record shows it this year.”
Italy fell into a three-way tie for third place at 4-1 with Denmark’s Madeleine Dupont and South Korea’s Eunji Gim, a 9-3 winner over Scotland’s Rebecca Morrison.
Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg topped Turkey’s Dilsat Yildiz 9-6 in the other early game. Hasselborg improved to 3-3 and moved into sole possession of sixth place.
The top six teams at the end of roundrobin play Friday will advance to the weekend playoffs. Tabitha Peterson of the United States and Norway were just outside the playoff cutline at 2-3 entering the afternoon draw.
Homan is making her fourth career appearance at this event. She won bronze in 2013, silver in ‘14 and gold in ‘17.
Since her last loss - a 6-5 decision to South Korea’s EunJung Kim over two months ago - she has earned a Grand Slam title at the Co-op Canadian Open and her fourth career Scotties Tournament of Hearts crown.
“There’s no quit in them,” Bartlett said. “It’s a dream team really. They’ve got it all.”