Canadian rinks close in on championship berths at Curling World Cup
Canadian teams won seven of eight games on Friday at the Curling World Cup Grand Final, setting the country up nicely heading into the final two days of the competition.
Laura Walker of Edmonton and Kirk Muyres of Saskatoon (4-1) leap-frogged into first in their mixed-doubles pool with a 9-2 win over China's Cao Chang and Yuan Mingjie and a 9-8 victory over Americans Sarah Anderson and Korey Dropkin.
Koe earns pair of victories on mixed day for Canada at Curling World Cup
The Canadians can advance to Sunday's final with a win over Switzerland's Michele Jaeggi and Sven Michel on Saturday.
"We feel really good. That was one of the best mixed doubles games I've played in a long time," Walker said after the win over the U.S.
The Manitoba mixed doubles team of Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott (3-2) was eliminated despite picking up two wins on Friday.
Jones' rink 'on the right side of the inch'
In women's action, Winnipeg's Jennifer Jones (4-0) won two games. Jones' rink beat Nina Roth of the U.S., 8-7 and edged Japan's Satsuki Fujisawa 7-6. Jones won both games in draw-to-the-button shootouts.
"Myself, I'm not the biggest fan of shootouts but we've been on the right side of the inch — literally," Jones said.
In men's play, Regina's Matt Dunstone (1-3) won his first game at the event with a 5-2 victory over Olympic champ John Shuster of the U.S.
Calgary's Kevin Koe (2-2) lost his only game of the day, falling 9-3 to Switzerland's Yannick Schwaller.
First prize to the men's and women's champs is $27,000 US, with $13,000 going to the runner-up. In mixed doubles, top prize is $13,500, with $6,500 going to the runner-up.
China's Cao Chang and Yuan Mingjie have been knocked out and won't reach the final of the Curling World Cup. The early elimination serves as a reminder that the host nation faces a tough task in the run-up to the 2022 Winter Olympics.
After opening the competition in Group A with a loss to Canada's Laura Walker and Kirk Muyres at the Curling World Cup's Grand Final, Chinese mixed doubles duo Cao Chang and Yuan Mingjie bounced back to grab an upset win over last year's world champions, Michele Jaeggi and Sven Michel of Switzerland.
"In our second contest, we felt better about the venue and competition than on the first time," Cao said. “As a new team, we want to try our best, and learn from our opponents."
Cao and Yuan have only been curling together since January, but quickly bonded while competing at events in both China and Europe, before emerging as the host nation's top pairing ahead of the Grand Final.
"We really enjoy ourselves. Even though we are not the best in this event, we loosened up a little bit, and focused on having fun. But we also want to show what we can do," Yuan said.
The Chinese tandem's optimism after shocking the Swiss squad was soon dashed, however, when they fell to the USA's Sarah Anderson and Korey Dropkin. So one step forward, but the search for consistency continues.
"I think we need more time to start playing as a cohesive team," Yuan noted. "We are also quite inexperienced compared to other teams like Canada, so we need to learn from each result. But I'm satisfied with our performance in this event, so far, as everything is leaning positive."
But to really make an impact at the 2022 Winter Olympics, China's mixed curlers will need to juggle a short preparation period, and an even shorter learning curve against some of the best combinations on the planet.
Laura Walker of Edmonton and Kirk Muyres of Saskatoon (4-1) leap-frogged into first in their mixed-doubles pool with a 9-2 win over China's Cao Chang and Yuan Mingjie and a 9-8 victory over Americans Sarah Anderson and Korey Dropkin.
Koe earns pair of victories on mixed day for Canada at Curling World Cup
The Canadians can advance to Sunday's final with a win over Switzerland's Michele Jaeggi and Sven Michel on Saturday.
"We feel really good. That was one of the best mixed doubles games I've played in a long time," Walker said after the win over the U.S.
The Manitoba mixed doubles team of Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott (3-2) was eliminated despite picking up two wins on Friday.
Jones' rink 'on the right side of the inch'
In women's action, Winnipeg's Jennifer Jones (4-0) won two games. Jones' rink beat Nina Roth of the U.S., 8-7 and edged Japan's Satsuki Fujisawa 7-6. Jones won both games in draw-to-the-button shootouts.
"Myself, I'm not the biggest fan of shootouts but we've been on the right side of the inch — literally," Jones said.
In men's play, Regina's Matt Dunstone (1-3) won his first game at the event with a 5-2 victory over Olympic champ John Shuster of the U.S.
Calgary's Kevin Koe (2-2) lost his only game of the day, falling 9-3 to Switzerland's Yannick Schwaller.
First prize to the men's and women's champs is $27,000 US, with $13,000 going to the runner-up. In mixed doubles, top prize is $13,500, with $6,500 going to the runner-up.
China's Cao Chang and Yuan Mingjie have been knocked out and won't reach the final of the Curling World Cup. The early elimination serves as a reminder that the host nation faces a tough task in the run-up to the 2022 Winter Olympics.
After opening the competition in Group A with a loss to Canada's Laura Walker and Kirk Muyres at the Curling World Cup's Grand Final, Chinese mixed doubles duo Cao Chang and Yuan Mingjie bounced back to grab an upset win over last year's world champions, Michele Jaeggi and Sven Michel of Switzerland.
"In our second contest, we felt better about the venue and competition than on the first time," Cao said. “As a new team, we want to try our best, and learn from our opponents."
Cao and Yuan have only been curling together since January, but quickly bonded while competing at events in both China and Europe, before emerging as the host nation's top pairing ahead of the Grand Final.
"We really enjoy ourselves. Even though we are not the best in this event, we loosened up a little bit, and focused on having fun. But we also want to show what we can do," Yuan said.
The Chinese tandem's optimism after shocking the Swiss squad was soon dashed, however, when they fell to the USA's Sarah Anderson and Korey Dropkin. So one step forward, but the search for consistency continues.
"I think we need more time to start playing as a cohesive team," Yuan noted. "We are also quite inexperienced compared to other teams like Canada, so we need to learn from each result. But I'm satisfied with our performance in this event, so far, as everything is leaning positive."
But to really make an impact at the 2022 Winter Olympics, China's mixed curlers will need to juggle a short preparation period, and an even shorter learning curve against some of the best combinations on the planet.
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