RIGA, Latvia — The cobblestone streets and picturesque beauty of the Latvian capital provided a welcome respite from the rigours of competition for the Canadian team at the world women’s curling championship.
Rachel Homan and her Ottawa Curling Club teammates took full advantage of a favourable schedule by sleeping in, doing some shopping and enjoying a leisurely Friday while taking in the city’s historic village.
By late afternoon, they were refreshed and well-rested as they got back down to business with a 30-minute practice session ahead of Saturday’s Page playoff 3-4 game against the United States.
Canada’s Rachel Homan will play the United States in the Page playoff 3-4 game at the world women’s curling championship.(Photo: The Canadian Press)
Canada finished third in the round robin at 8-3 and got a nice break with an off-day once the playoff schedule was set. American skip Erika Brown was 6-5 and claimed the fourth playoff spot with a 7-4 win over Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni in Friday’s tiebreaker at the Volvo Sports Center.
Sweden’s Margaretha Sigfridsson defeated Scotland’s Eve Muirhead 7-5 in the Page playoff 1-2 game later in the day. Sigfridsson advanced to Sunday’s gold-medal game while Muirhead will play in the semifinal on Saturday night.