MONTREAL – Rachel Homan started defence of her Scotties Tournament of Hearts title in style.
Homan and her Team Canada (1-0) rink from Ottawa scored four in the eighth end for an 8-3 victory over Manitoba’s Chelsea Carey (0-1) on Saturday night at the Maurice Richard Arena.
"The team played really well in front of me," said Homan, the winner last year in Kingston, Ont. "It was a tough battle. It was 4-3 and then one big end kind of ended it. My team just really had it today."
It was a nervy but successful start for Val Sweeting’s Alberta rink.
The Sweeting team (2-0) with lead Rachel Pidherny, second Dana Ferguson and third Joanne Courtney scored three points in the ninth end for a comeback 7-5 victory over 20-year-old newcomer Sarah Koltun (0-1) of the Yukon and Northwest Territories in the opening draw.
In the evening, Sweeting took the early lead, wasted it, and then scored two in an extra end for an 8-6 win over 22-year-old Kesa van Osch of British Columbia (1-1).