NORTH BATTLEFORD, Sask. — Hometown heroes Team Robyn Silvernagle are through to the A-finals of the triple knockout stage at the Meridian Canadian Open.
Team Silvernagle edged out Team Nina Roth of the United States 9-5 in an extra end with authority scoring four points to end the match during the sixth draw Thursday morning.
The Meridian Canadian Open features a triple knockout bracket preliminary round where teams must win three games before they lose three in order to qualify for Saturday’s quarterfinals. The semis are also set for Saturday with the finals scheduled Sunday.
Silvernagle’s squad (2-0) will take on Team Rachel Homan of Ottawa during the eighth draw in the afternoon for a playoff spot. Team Homan (2-0) scored a 6-3 win over Winnipeg’s Team Darcy Robertson.
Homan reclaimed the No. 1 ranking on the World Curling Tour’s Order of Merit after winning her record-tying ninth Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling women’s championship, and second in a row on the season, at last month’s Boost National.
Roth and Robertson (both at 1-1) dropped into the B brackets.
Elsewhere in the sixth draw, Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg topped Edmonton’s Team Chelsea Carey 7-3 and Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni defeated Sweden’s Team Isabella Wrana 6-4 during a pair of B event battles. Hasselborg and Tirinzoni (both 1-1) now meet in a rematch of the Princess Auto Elite 10 final while Wrana and the defending champion Carey (both 0-2) clash in the C stage with elimination on the line.
Edmonton’s Team Laura Walker (1-1) also stayed in the mix on the B side by beating Switzerland’s Team Elena Stern 7-5. The Tour Challenge Tier 2 champion Stern (0-2) slipped into the C group.
Action resumes with Draw 7 at 11:30 a.m. local time (12:30 p.m. ET) with broadcast coverage on Sportsnet, Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).
NOTES: The Meridian Canadian Open is the fifth event and third major of the 2018-19 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season featuring 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the globe. … Standard Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling rules apply: games are played to eight ends, the five-rock rule is in effect and teams receive 33 minutes of thinking time plus two, 90-second timeouts. … The combined purse is $250,000 with the winning teams earning $30,000 plus berths to the season-ending Humpty’s Champions Cup.
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