ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — It's business as usual for Rachel Homan in the Grand Slam of Curling.
Down but never out, Homan took two points in the eighth end to lift her Ottawa-based club to a 6-5 victory over Sweden's Team Anna Hasselborg in Sunday's final at the Kioti National to earn a record-extending 17th Grand Slam women's title.
The team of Homan, third Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew and lead Sarah Wilkes posted a perfect 7-0 record to collect $42,000 from the prize purse.
Homan also needed comeback victories over Japan’s Team Sayaka Yoshimura and Team Eun-jung Kim of South Korea during Saturday’s quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
“Unbelievable,” Homan said. “It was definitely a different way to win it in the end. We had two battles and come-from-behind wins in the quarters and semis. We’re just trying to keep playing better in the playoffs and trying to manage those misses a little bit more.”
It was the third consecutive final in the series for Homan and a second straight title victory. Homan fell to Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., during the HearingLife Tour Challenge in October and defeated Switzerland's Team Silvana Tirinzoni for the Co-op Canadian Open championship last month.
Looking at 2024 as a whole, Homan kicked things off by capturing last season's Co-op Canadian Open title in January and never took her foot off the pedal, wrapping up the year with a 75-5 record including Canadian and world championships and now two more Grand Slam titles in the fall.
“It’s been a dream year and ending it with a win feels amazing going into the holidays,” Homan said. “But we’ve got more work to do coming into the new year. Hopefully, we can keep this going in the new year.”
It hasn't always been easy, despite the dominant record, as evident in the final with Homan having to come from behind multiple times.
Hasselborg struck the scoreboard first with a single steal after Homan wrecked on a guard in the opening end. Homan bounced back with a draw for a deuce in the second, however, Hasselborg matched with a hit for two in the third.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion Hasselborg missed a raise takeout attempt in the fourth end, allowing Homan to draw for another pair of points and pull back ahead 4-3 heading into the break.
Hasselborg was forced to a single in the sixth to tie it but stole the go-ahead point in the seventh as she bumped and tucked shot rock under cover and Homan's double raise attempt missed the mark.
Still, Homan retained the hammer for the final frame and could see just enough of Hasselborg's shot rock to chisel it out and take two for the win.
“My team played phenomenal this game and Anna’s team played really well,” Homan said. “We had to fight for one another.”
The team of Hasselborg, third Sara McManus, second Agnes Knochenhauer and lead Sofia Mabergs earned $34,000 for going undefeated through pool play and finishing runner-up.
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