Jones takes out Cheryl Reed,Christine MacKay on opening day of the Scotties

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This article was published 25/01/2017 (3509 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Only three draws into the week, and already the 2017 Manitoba Scotties looks like it could be in for a wild ride.

At the top of the field, there was no surprise: Olympic champ Jennifer Jones went up 2-0 on day one, with dominant wins over Brandon’s Cheryl Reed in the morning and 21-year-old Fort Rouge skip Christine MacKay in the afternoon.

Also undefeated in Jones’ round robin group was veteran Joelle Brown, who beat Thompson’s Jennifer Briscoe and East St. Paul skip Colleen Kilgallen. MacKay and Kilgallen are still looking for their first win, after day one.

But in the middle, four teams split their Wednesday games, finishing the day with a 1-1 record — and some surprises.

The biggest upset of the group belonged to Briscoe, who toppled Shannon Birchard 7-3 in the day’s third draw.

Birchard, a former two-time Manitoba junior champ and 2016 provincial bronze medalist, had thumped Kilgallen 9-2 in the opening draw. But she struggled against Briscoe, who stole three singles and scored three in the seventh end.

Elsewhere around the field, Brandon’s Reed upset fourth-seed Brianne Meilleur in the afternoon, leaving both at 1-1 on the day. Meilleur had opened Wednesday with a 7-4 win over MacKay, who is wrapping up her junior career.

Earlier in the day defending champion Kerri Einarson, veteran Cathy Overton-Clapham and third seed Michelle Englot opened their provincial women’s championship bid with victories, all of them over lower-ranked teams.

Einarson picked up a 5-3 win over West Kildonan’s Meghan Armit, while Overton-Clapham rode four straight steals to beat Portage la Prairie’s Tiffany McLean 8-5.

Also in the 12:15 p.m. draw, Englot — who is based in Regina, and skipping the former provincial finalist Kristy McDonald team — recovered from a two rough ends against Dauphin’s Lisa Menard, to eke out a 9-8 win.

Englot had controlled most of the play. But after her team missed a slew of shots in the eighth, Menard’s foursome collected four. In the ninth, Menard crowded the house with rocks; without a shot, Englot gave up a steal of two.

But Englot, who comes into the week as fourth seed, recovered to pick up a 10th end deuce and the win.

“We managed to pull it out, so we’re still in a good spot,” Englot said, after.

There was one upset in that draw, as 2015 Manitoba junior champ Beth Peterson knocked off fifth seed Darcy Robertson. Peterson was able to capitalize for stolen singles in the 10th and extra end, to win 7-6.

Einarson’s round robin group will play one more game on Wednesday, set for 8:15 p.m.

The 2017 Manitoba Scotties round robin will continue through Saturday morning, with playoffs set to start that night. The championship final is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday, and will be broadcast live on Sportsnet.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca