By Shawn Coates (@shawncoates)
Jennifer Jones delivers a rock leading up to her opening day victory over Chelsea Carey at the 2013 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings, Sunday, December 1, 2013. (SHAWN COATES / CHRISD.CA)
Chelsea Carey looks on in dismay after being defeated 10-2 by Jennifer Jones. (SHAWN COATES / CHRISD.CA)
WINNIPEG — The first day of action at the 2013 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings Olympic curling trials started off with some exciting matches. The women took to the ice first in the afternoon with the men’s action taking place in the evening.
DRAW 1 – WOMEN’S SIDE
In women’s action, the feature contest of Draw 1 involved two Winnipeg teams: Jennifer Jones and Chelsea Carey. Jones, representing the St. Vital Curling Club, took on a familiar foe in Carey, who represents the Fort Rouge Curling Club.
Trailing 1-0 in the third end, Carey delivered a rock that appeared to pick up some debris on the ice, resulting in a missed shot that allowed Jones to steal two. Jones then put the game away in the sixth, scoring six en route to a 10-2 drubbing of Chelsea Carey.
In other women’s matches, Sherry Middaugh defeated Stefanie Lawton 5-3, Val Sweeting smoked Rachel Homan 10-3 in nine ends and Renee Sonnenberg edged Heather Nedohin 8-6 in a thriller.
Jeff Stoughton (SHAWN COATES / CHRISD.CA)
Glenn Howard (SHAWN COATES / CHRISD.CA)
DRAW 2 – MEN’S SIDE
The battle between Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton and Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.’s Brad Jacobs was the big match of Draw 2. Jacob made a key straight double-back takeout in the fifth end to lead 4-1 at the break. Stoughton replied with two in the sixth but that would be the closest he would get. Jacobs added two more in the eighth to eventually cruise to a 7-4 victory.
“We were able to take the crowd out of it, which was huge,” Jacobs said after the match. “Having the hammer was big. The guys played great in front of me and all I had to do was make a bunch of peels.”
Stoughton said his squad didn’t do enough to pressure Jacobs.
“There wasn’t much we could,” said Stoughton. “We couldn’t make a tough shot. We didn’t do much wrong — not great, not bad. We’d rather win the first game than lose it but we’re not going to hang our head.”
In other men’s matches, Kevin Martin defeated Mike McEwen 5-3, John Epping beat Kevin Koe 9-8 and John Morris won over Glenn Howard 8-6.
There are three draws of action at the MTS Centre on Monday, December 2. The women are on the ice at 8:30 a.m., the men follow at 1:30 p.m. and then the women return to action at 6:30 p.m.
