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Kerri Einarson remained undefeated at the Canadian curling trials with a 9-7 win over Selena Sturmay on Tuesday morning in Halifax.
Einarson’s squad from Gimli, Man., improved to 5-0 after scoring four in the ninth end to take a 9-5 lead.
Edmonton’s Sturmay fell to 2-3.
“We didn’t come out with our ‘A’ game so it was good to stay as a unit and have patience throughout the game. Sturmay played phenomenal,” Karlee Burgess, lead on Einarson’s rink, told CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux.
Burgess stressed the importance of having to play the full 10 ends and “make a clutch [shot] to seal the game” with the pressure mounting as the playoffs near.
“We definitely haven’t had our best [season] so being [5-0] feels good as a team. We’re confident.”
Ottawa’s Rachel Homan kept the heat on Einarson with a 4-1 record after a 10-3 win over Corryn Brown of Kamloops, B.C. Brown fell to 1-4.
“We had a one-game day [on Monday] so a bit of extra rest for this morning. We felt good going in,” said Homan.
Those results put the top two women’s teams in Canada on a collision course, with Homan and Einarson set to meet in the final women’s round-robin draw on Wednesday afternoon.
The team that finishes atop the round-robin standings gets direct entry into the best-of-three final, while the second and third seeds face off in a semifinal.
WATCH | CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux previews Canadian Olympic curling trials:
Olympic spots are on the line at the 2025 Canadian Curling Trials in Halifax
CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux previews the upcoming 2025 Canadian Curling Trials from Halifax.
In other results, Christina Black of Halifax stole one in each of the final two ends to edge Calgary’s Kayla Skrlik 6-5 and Winnipeg’s Kaitlyn Lawes defeated Kate Cameron of St. Adolphe, Man., 5-3.
Black and Lawes improved to 3-2 and remained in the hunt for a playoff spot.
“I missed one [shot] early in the game. I was feeling good with how I was throwing, so I had ot be patient and wait for another opportunity,” Lawes said. “We were lucking to get that three [pointer in the fifth end for a 4-2 lead] to help give us control of the game.”
Skrlik joined Sturmay at 2-3, Brown fell to 1-4 and Cameron dropped to 0-5.
The second-last women’s draw was scheduled for Tuesday night, after a men’s afternoon draw.
The winner of the men’s and women’s trials will represent Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, Italy.
