Alberta skip in first with 8-0 record
Val Sweeting is in a sweet spot at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
The Alberta skip was alone in first place with a 8-0 record at the Canadian women’s curling championship after beating Quebec’s Lauren Mann 8-6 in Wednesday’s afternoon draw at Mosaic Place.
Sweeting is pleased with her perfect start, but knows that she still hasn’t played three of the top teams here. Sweeting defeated Ontario’s Julie Hastings 8-5 on Wednesday night, plays Team Canada’s Rachel Homan and Saskatchewan’s Stefanie Lawton on Thursday. Sweeting’s final game of the round robin is against Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones on Friday morning.
Jones (7-1) is in second after Wednesday night’s draw. She was followed by Homan, 6-2 and Lawton, who are both 5-3.
“We’re sitting good and we’re happy with where we are,’’ said Sweeting, who is curling with her Edmonton-based team of third Lori Olson-Johns, second Dana Ferguson and lead Rachelle Brown. “We don’t want to let up and we want to keep on winning.’’
Sweeting has accomplished that by being focused on the games at hand and not the challenges that are ahead of her team.
“If we wander at all, we’re going to get caught up in it,’’ said Sweeting, who was beaten 8-6 by Homan in the final of the 2014 Canadian women’s championship.
“We just stay strong until the end of the game and stay in the moment. You have to win a lot more than just those games. We’re really focused on the game ahead and just making good shots.’’
That philosophy is prevalent on Sweeting’s team.
“Every game out there is important,’’ Olson-Johns said. “You have to be focused and determined in your processes because you want to be consistent in whatever you’re doing.
“What we’re trying to do is take it one step at a time and focus on the game ahead.’’
Olson-Johns wasn’t too worried about the schedule before the Scotties started on Saturday.
“I never look ahead or too far in advance,’’ Olson-Johns said.
Northern Ontario’s Tracy Horgan is 5-3.
Hastings, Prince Edward Island’s Suzanne Birt are 4-4.
They were followed by Arsenault, 4-5, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Heather Strong (3-6), New Brunswick’s Sylvie Robichaud (2-6), and Mann and B.C.’s Patti Knezevic (who are both 1-8).