 Uijeongbu's Gim Eun-ji (Photo: Anil Mungal/GSOC) is still alive after a rollercoaster match against Team Lawes. By: Cameron Sallaj After rising to number three in the world last season, Team Gim have proven they are a staple of the Grand Slam of Curling series. Not only did the team capture their first title at the 2023 KIOTI National, but they have always qualified in twelve of the last thirteen Slams they participated in. This week at the Co-op Canadian Open in Nisku, however, the team has shown signs of weakness for one of the first times in the past two years. After falling 10-3 in their opening game to fellow Korean Ha Seung-youn, the team lost 8-2 to Satsuki Fujisawa Wednesday. On the brink of elimination, Team Gim faced the Kaitlyn Lawes rink from Winnipeg with a win needed to stay alive. Following a blank in the opening end, troubles continued for the reigning world bronze medalists as they gave up a huge steal of four in the second end. Needing the four-foot to limit Lawes to one, Gim's final draw slid all the way through the rings, putting her team down early once again. Unlike their other games, however, Team Gim picked up momentum immediately in the third end. Facing one on her final stone, skip Eun-ji made a soft-weight takeout to give her team three points and bring them within one, an end that would prove pivotal in the team's success. From that point on, Gim and her team of Kim Min-ji, Kim Su-ji and Seol Ye-eun dominated the rest of the game, not allowing Lawes to score a single point with the hammer. In the fourth, Lawes' fourth stone thrower Selena Njegovan's final rock picked, resulting in a steal of two for the Korean side. They then stole single points in the fifth, sixth and seventh ends en route to an 8-4 comeback after finding themselves in a big hole early.  WATCH Draw 11: Gim vs LawesNow 1-2, Team Gim is still alive as they look to qualify for a seventh straight Grand Slam playoff round. On Friday, the team will play Ikue Kitazawa (0-3; Nagano, JPN) in a must win game to stay alive. Team Lawes, which is being led by third Selena Njegovan with Kaitlyn Lawes out on maternity leave, slips to 1-2. They will also have one final chance at staying alive Friday when they take on Satsuki Fujisawa (3-0; Kitami, JPN) in Draw 15 action. In other action Thursday afternoon, Team Silvana Tirinzoni counted two in the eighth end for a 6-4 win over Italy's Team Stefania Constantini. Both teams now hold 2-1 records with one game left to play. South Korea's Ha Seung-youn took an early 5-0 lead over Switzerland's Xenia Schwaller and held on to win 7-4. The Korean side improved to 2-1 while the Swiss are now 1-2. Finally, Team Satsuki Fujisawa scored three deuces and four in the fourth in a 10-6 decision over Team Ikue Kitazawa in an all-Japanese affair. Fujisawa, who won this event two years ago, is now playoff bound at 3-0 while Kitazawa has been eliminated at 0-3 in her team's first top tier GSOC event. The Co-op Canadian Open continues Thursday with Draw 12 beginning at 8:00 PM Mountain Time. Games can be streamed on Sportsnet or through the HomeTeamLive app. All game streams are linked to the CurlingZone Scoreboard and accessed by clicking the red play button. |
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Manitoba's Jordon McDonald (Photo: Curling Canada) is in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, competing at the Canadian Olympic Pre-Trials.
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