Defending champion Homan in 0-2 hole at curling trials after loss to McCarville

SASKATOON – Defending champion Rachel Homan was in an early hole at Canada’s Olympic curling trials after dropping a 9-5 decision to Krista McCarville on Sunday.

The result left Homan (0-2), who lost her opener to Jacqueline Harrison, with a steep hill to climb in round-robin play at the SaskTel Centre.

A third loss could still be enough to make the playoff cut in the nine-team women’s field. Higher-seeded opponents await Homan’s rink in round-robin play, which continues through Friday.

As pre-trial winners, McCarville and Harrison are the two lowest-seeded teams in the women’s draw.

In other games, Jennifer Jones improved to 2-0 with a 10-2 rout of Harrison (1-1) and reigning Canadian champion Kerri Einarson moved to 1-1 with a 10-5 victory over Casey Scheidegger (1-1).

Laura Walker (1-1) posted a 9-3 win over Kelsey Rocque (0-1) in the other early matchup.

A men’s draw was scheduled for the afternoon with the women returning to the ice in the evening.

The Tim Hortons Curling Trials men’s and women’s finals Nov. 28 determine the teams representing Canada in February’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2021.