(by Jean Mills)

Jeff Stoughton kept his undefeated record alive with a decisive 10-4 win over a struggling Kevin Martin, joining Mike McEwen at the top of the leaderboard after five draws at the 2012 Capital One Canada Cup of Curling.

Jeff Stoughton delivers his stone in Draw 5 action on his way to a 10-4 win against Kevin Martin. (Photo: CCA/Michael Burns Photography)

Martin made two uncharacteristic misses to give up a steal of 3 in the third and two more in the fourth and fifth to give Stoughton a 6-1 lead after five ends. Picking it up after the break, Martin regrouped, taking two in six and stealing another in seven when Stoughton’s draw missed the four foot. In eight, Stoughton was forced to make a clutch draw to cover the pin, which he did, taking a 7-4 lead into nine. But it fell apart for Martin in the ninth, when his draw against three came up short, giving Stoughton the 10-4 victory.

Stefanie Lawton and Kaitlyn Lawes (Team Jones) met in the battle of undefeated women’s teams. Lawton emerged with a 7-5 victory after keeping the pressure on throughout.

“We had some missed opportunities, and it was back and forth,” said Lawton. “We struggled for the first five for sure. The ice was slightly different from this morning and we were adjusting again. We made a few adjustments after the fifth and things went well from there.”

In the other women’s game, Sherry Middaugh improved to a 2-2 record with an 8-7 win over Crystal Webster in an evenly matched, close game.

McEwen and Stoughton sit at the top of the standings at 3-0, followed by Koe at 2-1, Howard and Martin at 1-2, Epping at 1-3 and Gushue at 0-3, still looking for a win.

In the women’s draw, Lawton remains undefeated at 4-0, Jones and Nedohin are at 2-1, Middaugh and Webster are close behind at 2-2, and Carey and Overton-Clapham are winless at 0-3.

Thursday night action sees Gushue vs Stoughton, Jones vs Nedohin, Carey vs Overton-Clapham, Koe vs Howard, and McEwen vs Martin.

Click for full story and video interviews at the CCA website.