(by Al Cameron)
In a field that had been somewhat lacking for former Canadian champions, a two-time winner was the 15th and final qualifier on Sunday for the 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Rachel Homan, left, and Emma Miskew will once again be wearing Ontario colours at the 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, beginning Feb. 18 in St. Catharines, Ont. (Photo, Curling Canada/Andrew Klaver)
Rachel Homan’s team from Ottawa — vice-skip Emma Miskew, second Joanne Courtney, lead Lisa Weagle and coach Adam Kingsbury — claimed the Ontario Scotties provincial women’s title at Cobourg, beating Mississauga’s Jacqueline Harrison 7-4 in the championship final.
As a result, Team Homan will be the home-province hopeful as Team Ontario at the 2017 Scotties national championship, Feb. 18-26 at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines.
Homan, Miskew and Weagle (with former second Alison Kreviazuk) won back-to-back titles at the Scotties in 2013 at Kingston, Ont., and 2014 in Montreal, and join the defending champion Team Canada squad — Calgary’s Chelsea Carey, with vice-skip Amy Nixon, second Jocelyn Peterman, lead Laine Peters, alternate Susan O’Connor and coach Charley Thomas — as the lone former champion teams in the field.
Interestingly, it will be Ontario taking on Team Canada in the round-robin opener for both teams on Feb. 18, at 3:30 p.m. AT.
Two team alternates — Saskatchewan’s Amber Holland and Alberta’s Heather Nedohin — also are former Scotties Canadian champions.
The rest of the field looks like this (skip, vice-skip, second, lead, alternate, coach):
- British Columbia (Golden Ears WC, Maple Ridge) — Marla Mallett, Shannon Aleksic, Brette Richards, Blaine De Jager, Kristen Recksiedler, Gerry Richard.
- Alberta (Okotoks CC) — Shannon Kleibrink, Lisa Eyamie, Sarah Wilkes, Alison Thiessen, Heather Nedohin, Richard Kleibrink.
- Saskatchewan (Moose Jaw Ford CC) — Penny Barker, Deanna Doig, Lorraine Schneider, Danielle Sicinski, Amber Holland, Merv Fonger.
- Manitoba (Granite CC, Winnipeg) — Michelle Englot, Kate Cameron, Leslie Wilson, Raunora Westcott, Krysten Karwacki, Ron Westcott.
- Northern Ontario (Fort William CC, Thunder Bay) — Krista McCarville, Kendra Lilly, Ashley Sippala, Sarah Potts, alternate Oye-Sem Won Briand, Lorraine Lang.
- Quebec (Mount Royal CC, Mont-Royal) — Eve Bélisle, Lauren Mann, Trish Hill, Brittany O’Rourke, Pamela Nugent, Jeff Wilson.
- Nova Scotia (Windsor CC) — Mary Mattatall, Margaret Cutcliffe, Jill Alcoe-Holland, Andrea Saulnier, Julie McEvoy, Bruce Lohnes.
- New Brunswick (Capital WC, Fredericton) — Melissa Adams, Jennifer Armstrong, Cathlia Ward, Katie Forward, Jillian Keough, Mark Ward.
- Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown CC) — Robyn MacPhee, Sarah Fullerton, Meaghan Hughes, Michelle McQuaid, Rebecca Jean MacDonald, Les Rogers.
- Newfoundland/Labrador (St. John’s CC/ReMax Centre) — Stacie Curtis, Erin Porter, Julie Devereaux, Erica Trickett, Shelley Hardy, Eugene Trickett.
- Northwest Territories (Yellowknife CC) — Kerry Galusha, Meagan Koehler, Danielle Derry, Sharon Cormier, Shona Barbour, John Epping.
- Yukon (Whitehorse CC) — Sarah Koltun, Chelsea Duncan, Patty Wallingham, Jenna Duncan, Helen Strong, Bill Tschirhart.
- Nunavut (Iqaluit CC) — Geneva Chislett, Denise Hutchings, Robyn Mackey, Jenine Bodner, Sadie Pinksen, Donalda Mattie.
To purchase tickets for the 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, go to:www.curling.ca/2017scotties/tickets/