Jennifer Jones to battle Amber Holland for curling crown

By: Paul Wiecek Posted: 6:26 PM CST Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011

CHARLOTTETOWN -- Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones will play Saskatchewan’s Amber Holland here Sunday evening for a Canadian women's curling championship.

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CHARLOTTETOWN -- Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones will play Saskatchewan’s Amber Holland here Sunday evening for a Canadian women's curling championship.

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CHARLOTTETOWN — Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones will play Saskatchewan’s Amber Holland here Sunday evening for a Canadian women’s curling championship.

Holland advanced to face Jones in the final with a 7-5 win over Ontario’s Rachel Homan Saturday afternoon in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts semifinal.

A steal of two in the fifth end that put Saskatchewan up 5-2 heading into the break proved decisive for Holland.

Frank Gunn / the canadian press
Saskatchewan skip Amber Holland smiles after defeating Ontario in their semi-final game at the 2011 Tournament of Hearts in Charlottetown, PEI on Saturday. — Frank Gunn / the canadian press Saskatchewan skip Amber Holland smiles after defeating Ontario in their semi-final game at the 2011 Tournament of Hearts in Charlottetown, PEI on Saturday.

Saskatchewan and Jones’s Team Canada foursomes were the two best teams here all week, finishing 1-2 in the round-robin standings respectively.

But while Saskatchewan finished first in the round-robin, Holland ackowledged the formidable challenge she will face on Sunday against a three-time defending champion in Jones.

“You know she’s coming with everything, right?,” said Holland, who played her first Scotties playoff game ever on Friday. “But if we can kind of stay the course and focus on our performance and keep the pressure on them and make our shots, the rest will take care of itself.”

Jones — who has won four of the five Canadian finals she has played in since 2005 — is not underestimating Holland.

“They’re playing really well right now,” said Jones. “It should be a very interesting game, with lots of rocks in play

“As long as we go out there and enjoy the moment and have fun, there will be absolutely no regrets.

Sunday’s final will be a rubber match of sorts. Holland defeated Jones 9-3 in the round-robin last Sunday, but Canada won the rematch Friday night in the page playoff 1 vs 2 game by a score of 10-9.

That win propelled Jones straight to Sunday’s final, while Holland had to try again in the semifinal against an Ontario foursome who had advanced earlier Saturday with a 13-5 win over Nova Scotia’s Heather Smith-Dacey in the page playoff 3 vs 4 game.

Both Jones and Holland will be attempting to make some curling history in the final on Sunday (TSN, 5:30 p.m.). With a win, Jones would record her fourth-straight Canadian womens curling championship, tying the record set by Nova Scotia’s Colleen Jones from 2001-04.

But should Saskatchewan win the final, it would be the first mens or womens Canadian curling championship for that province since the late Sandra Schmirler won the Scotties in 1997.