Homan too quick on draw
Ottawan’s last-rock miss hands berth in final to Jones
WINNIPEG Of all the misadventures that might have happened on the penultimate day of women’s round-robin play at the Olympic curling trials, Rachel Homan throwing a last-rock draw that was still moving as it passed Fargo, N.D., wasn’t one anybody saw coming.
But the icy Canadian champion from Ottawa did, and allowed Jennifer Jones to steal a point in the 10th end for a 7-6 win that put Canadian curling’s poster girl and her Winnipeg teammates one victory from wearing the maple leaf in Sochi.
Needing to touch a piece of the button with her final stone after Jones threw a perfect freeze to sit as shot rock, Homan watched in shock as her stone sailed into and out of the house, leaving Jones alone and untouchable with a 5-1 record and a direct pass to Saturday night’s Roar Of The Rings final.
“Are we? Are we in the final?” a surprised Jones said after reporters informed her that she was a win away from the Olympics.
“Wow, I had no idea. Yay! That’s awesome. We battled back again, and really hung in there, made a couple of great shots, and that last end we made her make a draw, and it worked out really well for us.
“Those are the ones you have to grind out and win to be successful this week.”
Homan, who had a chance to move into a tie at the top of the standings but instead dropped into a four-way tie for third with a 3-3 record, was as stoic as ever in describing what must have felt like a blow to the solar plexus.
“No, not at all,” said the 24-year-old personal trainer. “We did everything we could. We anticipated the fudge (slushy ice) and it just wasn’t there. I’m really proud of my team. We had a heck of
‘I’m really proud of my team. We had a heck of a game and we deserved that win but that’s all right. They got away with one, and we’ll get them back.’
RACHEL HOMAN
a game and we deserved that win but that’s all right. They got away with one, and we’ll get them back.”
It’s the second time this week Homan has alluded to slushy conditions. Earlier in the week she blamed two rocks that she left woefully short of the house on deteriorating ice on Sheet D. This was on Sheet A.
“I’m really proud of my team. They gave me the best information they could for my last draw, and we just didn’t quite have it nailed,” she said. “I thought it would be much slower than that, I thought I threw what everybody wanted us as a team to throw. That’s all right. It’ll be good ice (Thursday), we play at noon. It’ll be consistent through the whole way so we won’t have to worry about any fudge.”
Winnipeg’s Chelsea Carey moved alone into second place and clinched at least a playoff spot with a 4-2 record, beating Edmonton’s Val Sweeting 6-4.