![]() Gimli's Kerri Einarson won 5-4 over Ottawa's Rachel in Sunday's Final in Charlottetown. Einarson and third Val Sweeting have overcome significant challenges over the past nine months since the news around Briane Harris and her absence from the Scotties shocked the curling world. Add in this offseason, with second Shannon Birchard having been on the injured list since the season started, it's left a hole in the lineup. Krysten Karwacki has been a rock stepping in at lead for Einarson, the former fifth and star content creator for them and several other teams on Tour. Second has been a revolving door, though the addition of Dawn McEwen this week has solidified the lineup and helped put Einarson through into Sunday's final at the HearingLife Tour Challenge in Charlottetown. With both teams advancing through the B-event bracket, Homan, with Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew, and Sarah Wilkes, won the pre-game draw for hammer advantage. Homan blanked the first end, getting on the board and scoring 1 in the second end. Homan held Einarson to a single in the third end, then scored two points in the fourth end to lead to 3-1 at the game's halfway point. Einarson scored a single point in the fifth end to cut the deficit to a single point. The sixth end was the turning point for Einarson, where Homan flashed a double with her first shot, then slid heavy on a draw against two Einarson counters. The steal gave Einarson their first lead of the game, who then followed up by forcing Homan to a single point in the seventh end. Coming home with hammer in a tie game, Einarson scored a single point for the 5-4 victory. Einarson needed an extra end to win 6-4 over Japan's Satsuki Fujisawa in Saturday evening's semifinals and won 6-1 over Sweden's Isabella Wrana in the quarterfinals earlier in the day. Einarson advanced through the B-event bracket to qualify for the playoff round after falling 6-4 in the opening round to Italy's Stefania Constantini. Einarson rattled off three straight wins, a 7-4 decision over Delaney Strouse of Traverse City, Michigan, 7-1 over Sweden's Anna Hasselborg and finishing with a 5-4 win over Winnipeg's Kaitlyn Lawes in the qualifying game. |