Brad Jacobs and Rachel Homan win 2018 Grand Slam of Curling Tour Challenge Tier 1 events

Brad Jacobs (Katarzyna Wicik, Wikimedia Commons)

Canadian Olympic gold medalist Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and Rachel Homan of Ottawa, Ontario won the men’s and women’s events respectively at the 2018 Grand Slam of Curling Tour Challenge Tier 1 events from Thunder Bay, Ontario. Jacobs defeated Brendan Bottcher of Edmonton, Alberta 6-5 in the men’s final and Homan defeated Tracy Fleury of Winnipeg, Manitoba 8-4 in the women’s final.

In the men’s final, Jacobs came back to score two points in the eighth end for a one point victory. All players on the Jacobs team curled over 80%. Jacobs and lead Ryan Harnden both curled 86%, second E.J. Harnden curled 82% and third Ryan Fry curled 81%.

Jacobs won pool C with a record of three wins and one loss. The Jacobs team also defeated Bottcher 5-4 in pool play, and also beat Braden Calvert of Winnipeg, Manitoba 5-3, and Glenn Howard of Midland, Ontario 5-1. He lost 3-1 to Kevin Koe of Calgary, Alberta. In the quarterfinals, Jacobs beat reigning Olympic gold medalist John Shuster of the United States 7-6, and in the semifinals, he beat reigning Olympic bronze medalist Peter de Cruz of Switzerland 6-3. Jacobs won his gold medal for Canada in men’s curling at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.

Homan’s team meanwhile dominated Fleury’s squad. Homan’s team scored three points each in the second and fifth ends. After curling very well all week, Tracy Fleury missed some key shots which allowed Homan to take control.

Homan went undefeated throughout the tournament. She defeated Americans Jamie Sinclair 7-3 and Cory Christensen 8-2, Kerri Einarson of Selkirk, Manitoba 7-2 and Chelsea Carey of Calgary, Alberta 8-3 in Pool B play before beating Laura Walker of Edmonton, Alberta 5-3 in the semi-final and Nina Roth of the United States 6-5 in the semi-final.

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