Thurston to take on Jones in Curling Classic final

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This article was published 28/10/2013 (4336 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It will be an all-Manitoba final at Fort Rouge Curling Club Monday evening.

Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones will take on Winnipeg’s Jill Thurston in the final of the $60,000 Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Womens Curling Classic. First rock is scheduled for 5 p.m..

Jones advanced to the final with a 9-4 semi-final win over Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni this afternoon, while Thurston was a winner in the afternoon’s other semi-final, dropping Winnipeg’s Barb Spencer 5-3.

Both teams head into the final riding six-game win streaks. Jones has yet to be beaten at Fort Rouge, winning four straight on the A-side to qualify for the playoffs and then two in the playoffs, over Tirinzoni and earlier in the day over Calgary’s Crystal Webster in the quarterfinals.

Thurston, in contrast, lost her first two games at Fort Rouge to drop quickly to the C-side, but then won four in a row to qualify and two more today, over Spencer and earlier in the day over Russia’s Anna Sidorova in the quarterfinals.

The winner of the final takes home $15,000, while the loser settles for $10,000. The Fort Rouge spiel is annually the richest women’s bonspiel in Manitoba, but it hasn’t been won by a Manitoba team since Chelsea Carey did it in 2010.

 

Manitobans dominate at Women’s Curling Classic

They’re down to just four teams still remaining at the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Womens Curling Classic — and three of them are from Manitoba.

Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones, Barb Spencer and Jill Thurston all survived Monday morning’s quarterfinal round at Fort Rouge Curling Club — as did Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzioni — and all four teams will now play on in this afternoon’s semi-final round at 1:30 p.m..

Jones will play Tirinzioni, while Spencer will play Thurston — that latter matchup guaranteeing at least one Manitoba team will be in Monday’s final, which begins at 5 p.m..

Jones advanced to the semi-final with a 6-5 extra end win Monday morning over Calgary’s Crystal Webster — a team that includes former Jones teammate Cathy Overton-Clapham at third.

Spencer appeared to be in trouble in her quarterfinal with Switzerland’s Michelle Jaggi after giving up a steal of two in the fifth end, but a three-ender in the sixth end followed by a steal of three more for Spencer in the 7th end made for a comfortable 8-4 victory.

Thurston squandered a 3-0 early lead in her quarterfinal against Russia’s Anna Sidorova, but authored a three-ender in the sixth end to regain a three point lead and then hung on for a narrow 6-5 win.

Tirinzioni spoiled what would otherwise have been an all-Manitoba final four today at Fort Rouge, stealing the fourth and fifth ends in her game against Winnipeg’s Janet Harvey en route to a 4-2 victory.