TORONTO — Two-time Canadian champion Heather Nedohin of Edmonton bid farewell to the fans for now Saturday during the Players’ Championship at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Nedohin announced earlier this year she’s stepping back from competitive curling following the season-ending Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event and played her final game after falling to Scotland’s Eve Muirhead 8-4 in the quarterfinals.
“We had a good finishing event and we had a closer game with Eve than we did in the round robin and good teams battling it out,” Nedohin said. “I just want to reduce. I don’t have the time to do the 12 to 14 events and to be honest I’m not that interested in doing that many events. I don’t know what it means but I’m not gone from the game.”
Team Nedohin third Amy Nixon, second Jocelyn Peterman and lead Laine Peters will stick together and have added Chelsea Carey to skip them next season.
“The team is looking great. They’re going to be stepping up with a new skip that’s playing fantastic,” Nedohin said. “The girls are in set so it’s good.”
Muirhead scored deuces in the first and third ends to lead 4-1. Nedohin settled for a single in the second. After Muirhead missed on a double attempt during the fifth end, Nedohin capitalized by drawing to the eight-foot circle for two. The rinks alternated singles through six and seven and Muirhead added three in the final frame.
Nedohin won the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and world bronze medals in 1998 and 2012.
Players’ Championship: Men’s Scores | Women’s Scores | Standings
Elsewhere, Anna Sidorova scored two in the sixth and stole one in seven to lift her Russian rink to a 6-3 victory over reigning world champion Alina Paetz of Switzerland.
Paetz opened with the hammer and made a double angle raise for shot stone with her last rock for one. Sidorova got an open draw for two in the second to go up 2-1 and Paetz tied it with one in the third. The rinks alternated singles through the fourth and fifth ends.
Sidorova made an incredible triple raise to score two in the sixth to take the lead 5-3 and grabbed another point when Paetz missed on her last shot in seven.
Sidorova qualified for the playoffs with a 7-5 win over Sherry Middaugh in the morning tiebreaker.
Val Sweeting plays Sidorova and Muirhead meets Rachel Homan in the semifinals (Sunday, 10 a.m. ET). Both Sweeting and Homan earned direct byes to the semis as the top two teams in the round robin.