Amber Holland at the 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts (Photo by: Andrew Klaver)
The undefeated ranks at the Scotties Tournament Of Hearts were reduced to three teams Sunday afternoon. Saskatchewan’s Amber Holland won her second straight with a 9-3 stunner over defender champion Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg during which the Kronau-based team was nothing short of immaculate.
Skip Holland was pointed at 94 per cent on her stones. Jones was 73.
“We got some opportunities there and we took advantage of those,” said the blonde Saskatchewan skip. “That made it a little easier.
Calgary’s Shannon Kleibrink and Ottawa’s Rachel Homan also forged 2-0 records.
Kleibrink stole a 7-6 extra-end decision over Kelly Scott of British Columbia who narrowly missed a long runback triple-kill with her last rock after Alberta welded two stones on the button behind its own guard.
Homan stole five points in an easy 7-1 rout of Newfoundland’s Stacie Devereaux.
“We’re just playing really well and capitalizing on mistakes,” said the 21-year-old Homan.
“I don’t think anybody’s been 100 per cent but you don’t want to start out at 100 per cent. You want to save that for the end of the week. But I’ve been nervous the whole time and it doesn’t matter what the score is.”
Kleibrink said she’s still trying to figure out how to execute a nose hit, usually her bread and butter.
“I’m comfortable with any draw but nosing a hit, can’t do it,” she said. “But I will, I will.
“You just keep battling, they (B.C.) weren’t making every shot, either. We’ve got mountains to climb right now but I’m on the way up there.”
It was a tight match until B.C. claimed a ninth-end deuce to take the lead and could have stashed away an insurance point in the 10th end but Scott’s last-rock guard failed to block Kleibrink’s avenue to a B.C. stone in the four-foot.
“My second rock over-curled on the guard,” said Scott. “The ice was a little wonky out here. That rock swung so much it almost wound up in seats”
In other one game, home-province favourite Suzanne Birt gave a strong performance, doubling the count 10-5 against Marie-France Larouche of St-Romuald, Quebec. It was Birt’s first win and Larouche’s second loss in three games.