GRAND PRAIRIE, Alta. — Ottawa’s Rachel Homan earned the first direct-entry berth into the 2017 Canadian curling trials with an 8-7 win over Edmonton’s Val Sweeting on Sunday in the Canada Cup women’s final.
The winner of the Canadian trials, known as the Roar of the Rings, will determine the country’s four-player teams for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
"Unbelievable," Homan said. "I’ve never been so happy to win a tournament in my life.
"Getting to the Trials is our No. 1 goal and to accomplish that this early, we tried really hard to get there, but you never know. In this sport anything can happen so we’re excited to be able to clinch that win."
Homan avenged a loss to Sweeting in the championship game of the 2014 Canada Cup, scoring a single in the 11th end to edge the Edmonton skip on Sunday.
Sweeting tied the game with a single in the 10th end. She also scored three in the third, two in the fifth and one in the seventh.
Homan scored a deuce each in the second and eighth ends and singles in the fourth, sixth, ninth and 11th.
"If I make my blank in seven we’re in much better position to win that game," Sweeting said. "It wasn’t bad that we took one there, we still had a two-point lead, but just a couple of half shots by me and we paid for it."
With her final shot in the eighth, Homan knocked two Sweeting stones off the four-foot to score two for a 6-6 tie. Homan cleaned house with her final shot in the 10th, leaving Sweeting to draw to the eight-foot to force an extra end.
"They made some great shots and we had a couple of bad luck (shots), but that’s OK," Homan said. "We stayed with it and thankfully we got a win in the extra (end)."
Homan’s team of third Emma Miskew, second Joanne Courtney and lead Lisa Weagle picked up $24,000 for winning their sixth event of the season — the $14,000 top prize, plus $2,000 for each of their round-robin victories.
On the men’s side, Calgary’s Kevin Koe delivered a double takeout to score three and finish off Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen 7-3. The win earned Koe the first men’s berth into the Canadian trials.
Koe last won the Canada Cup in 2008 while McEwen was looking to retain the title he won in Camrose, Alta., last year. But with Koe’s team of third Marc Kennedy, second Brent Laing and lead Ben Hebert curling 90 per cent as a team, it wasn’t meant to be.
"We were always in control, never down and we’re always pretty good when we do that," said Koe.
Koe’s rink earned a total of $21,500 — $14,000 for winning the event and $1,500 for each of its five round-robin victories.
Homan and Koe’s crews will also be part of the North American team at the 2016 World Continental Cup in Las Vegas Jan. 14-17.
"More than the wins, the Continental Cup and the trials, which was really nice, it was big for us as a team," said Koe. "We had high expectations last year and probably didn’t quite live up to them and we’ve had a great year this year. Hopefully it just keeps getting better."