Homan 8 Sturmay 1
Koe 6 Kleiter 3
For the second-straight year, Rachel Homan will head home as the winner of the Red Deer Curling Classic.
Homan defeated Edmonton’s Selena Sturmay 8-1 in the final of the annual competition at the Pidherney Centre in Red Deer on Monday.
“It was a really strong performance for the team. We had a couple of close battles and we were able to make some good shots,” Homan said after her team’s victory.
“Sturmay played really well. The score wasn’t indicative of how it went. There was just one shot here that made it kind of lopsided.”
Homan made it to the final after a 5-3 victory over Kaitlyn Lawes, of Winnipeg, Man., in the semifinal earlier in the day – Homan bested Winnipeg’s Beth Peterson 7-3 in the quarterfinal.
Homan’s team was made up of lead Sarah Wilkes, second Emma Miskew and third Tracy Fleury – it was the exact same group that won the 2022 Red Deer Curling Classic.
Calgary’s Kevin Koe beat Rylan Kleiter, of Saskatoon, Sask., 6-3 in the men’s final on Monday.
“We’re super happy. To win a (bonspiel) is hard these days. There are lots of good teams,” said Koe.
“We played pretty well and got some timely breaks it seemed like. We were able to make the shots when we needed to. It was a big win for us – we’ve lost a couple of finals already this year so it’s nice to finish one off.”
Koe’s team was made up of lead Karrick Martin, second Jacques Gauthier and third Tyler Tardi. The team beat Saskatoon’s Mike McEwan 4-3 in the semifinal and Japan’s Riku Yanagisawa 6-5 in the quarterfinal.
Koe praised the efforts of the organizers and sponsors of the Red Deer Curling Classic.
“It was an unbelievable event. they did a great job,” he said.
Brian Mennie, a Red Deer Curling Classic committee member, said this year’s event was a success.
“We didn’t have as many big-name teams or as many foreign teams as last year, but it’s gone well,” said Mennie.
“The quarterfinals were very competitive. Some years when you get to the playoffs, you get blowouts for whatever reason. This year, all of the quarterfinal games.”
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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