 Saskatoon's Nancy Martin (Photo: Wanda Harron) won their final round robin game Saturday afternoon to qualify for the final four at the Curling Stadium Alberta Tour Kick-off. By: Cameron Sallaj After an opening 7-2 loss to Leduc's Emily Clark Friday night, Nancy Martin and her Saskatchewan squad of Lindsay Bertsch, Madison Kleiter, and Krysten Karwacki needed two victories Saturday to secure a spot in the final four playoff round at the Alberta Tour Kick-off. Following a convincing 9-4 win over Jessica Wytrychowski (Edmonton, AB), Martin's team battled the undefeated Kerry Galusha squad from Yellowknife with their playoff hopes hanging in the balance. Galusha and her team of fourth Jo-Ann Rizzo, third Margot Flemming, and second Sarah Koltun started the game with hammer but immediately gave the advantage away. Rizzo pulled up light on her final draw facing two Martin counters, giving the Saskatoon team an early lead. The Territories rink battled back with a single in the second before stealing a point in the third to draw even. The tie didn't last long however, as Nancy Martin drew to the eight-foot to put two more on the board in end four for a 4-2 lead. Through ends five and six, the two teams traded singles, with Martin still holding a two-point edge. With a blank in seven, Team Galusha needed to count two points in the eighth to send the game into overtime. Facing a crowded four-foot on her first rock, Jo-Ann Rizzo executed an angle runback to leave her team lying shot stone. After Nancy Martin's final guard left a port, Rizzo attempted to remove the red rock in the house to count three for the win. Her rock overcurled and clipped the guard, however, it redirected and spun another one of their stones onto the top of the button, counting two and taking the game to an extra end. In the extra, Martin secured the victory for her rink with an open hit-and-stick for a single to escape with the 6-5 win. With the victory by Martin, both teams finished the round robin with identical 2-1 records, however, Martin earned the higher seed thanks to their head-to-head win. Semifinal action in Leduc gets underway at 10:00 AM Mountain Time. Top seed Kayla Skrlik (3-0; Calgary, AB) will battle Kerry Galusha while Nancy Martin goes up against Abby Marks (Edmonton, AB). The winners will advance to the championship game at 2:30 PM MT. The Alberta Tour Kick-off is being streamed all weekend long by Curling Stadium. Streaming links are available via www.CurlingZone.com. Watch the replay of the round robin match between Nancy Martin and Kerry Galusha: |
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Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner (Photo: Stephen Fisher/World Curling) claim Italy's first World Mixed Doubles Championship crown.
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