The world’s #1-ranked team, Rachel Homan with Tracy Fleury at third, Emma Miskew and Sarah Wilkes on the front end, is pushing hard toward securing a spot in the Olympics in Milan Cortina.
Homan started the week in dominant fashion, earning back-to-back blowout wins over Manitoba’s Kate Cameron (16–5) and Nova Scotia’s Christina Black (8–2).
However, their 31-game winning streak against Canadian teams came to an end when they faced Alberta’s Kayla Skrlik, losing a tight extra-end battle 8–7.
They then turned things around against Alberta’s Selena Sturmay, with a strong opportunity to bounce back. Homan controlled the opening game, landing a draw to the button for the hammer.
Homan opened aggressively with a three in the first end. Sturmay answered with her own pair in the second. Homan then broke open the game with five in the third and a steal of two in the fourth. Sturmay added two more in the fifth and stole one in the sixth. Homan fired back with a point in the seventh and stole one more in the eighth, sealing a 12–5 victory.
The team was exceptional this game, finishing with a 91% team shooting percentage. Individually:
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Sarah: 91%
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Emma: 95%
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Tracy: 94%
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Rachel: 84%
This year’s Olympic Trials use a new format — an 8-team round robin. The top seed goes directly to the final, while the 2nd and 3rd seeds meet in a semifinal. The finals will be a best-of-three showdown.
Homan now stands at 3–1. Their next matchup is against British Columbia’s Corryn Brown on Tuesday at 9:00 am Atlantic Time. Later that evening, they will face Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes at 7:00 pm AT. The round robin concludes Wednesday against Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson, also at 7:00 pm AT.
Sarah and Tracy are aiming to qualify for their first Olympic Games, while Tracy previously reached the final of the Trials in 2021. Emma looks to return to the Olympics for the first time since 2018, and Rachel is seeking her third straight Olympic appearance after competing in 2018 and 2022.
Fans can watch the games live on TSN (Canada) or through TSN YouTube (International). Live scoring is available on the CurlingZone website.
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