A tale of two ‘Tobas

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/02/2009 (6297 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VICTORIA — It’s shaping up as a tale of two very different Manitoba teams here at the 2009 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

And Jennifer Jones is enjoying the divide a lot more than Barb Spencer.

Jones, playing as the defending Canadian champion, improved to 3-0 here Sunday with two more very convinciing victories.

Saturday night, Jones and her Team Canada foursome drummed Alberta’s Cheryl Bernard 9-3 in six ends. Sunday afternoon, it was Nova Scotia’s Nancy McConnery’s turn, falling 9-1 to the Jones juggernaut, also in just six ends. And then Sunday night, Winnipeg rival Barb Spencer got the beating, falling 12-5 to Jones.

Put it all together and Jones has played just 21 ends in three games and outscored her opponents by a total score of 30-9.

Which is a far, far cry from where Spencer and her Manitoba team find themselves this morning.

Spencer is 0-3 heading into today after the loss to Jones and a 6-5 loss to Alberta earlier Sunday. And that is a long way from where Spencer was hoping to be today at an event she was optimistic would finally help her bury the skeletons of national women’s championships past.

Spencer missed the playoffs in two previous trips to this event, but felt this time that she had the team — and the momentum — that would allow her rink to be much more competitive here this week.

But four losses is generally the maximum a team can afford at this event and still make the playoffs — and many times three is the minimum — and so Spencer had better find that competitive game quickly.

And she knows it.

“We’re just not putting it together at the moment,” said Spencer. “But we’re not looking at this like we’re out of it yet.

“It can happen quickly, we know that. But things are different this year. I’m throwing better this year than I have. The ice is a little tricky, it’s straighter than what we’re used to. But certainly nerves aren’t getting in the way. We’re just not making the shots when we need them.”

And that, Spencer had to admit, has taken some of the fun out of this event. “It’s fun to be here,” she said, “but it’s also fun to win. For me, winning is fun. We’re trying to keep things in perspective.”

Which is exactly what the Jones team — who are occupying the opposite end of the curling continuum heading into today — are also trying to do, interestingly enough.

“It’s not like these aren’t tough games,” said Jones. “Obviously we’ve won early the last couple games, but we’ve had to make big shots early.

“As long as you’re making the big shots in the first end or the last end, it doesn’t really matter when. There’s always opportunities you have to capitalize on. And so far we seem to be doing that.”

Jones takes on New Brunswick this afternoon and Ontario tonight, while Spencer plays Yukon/NWT this afternoon and Newfoundland tonight.

Last night’s match between Jennifer Jones and Barb Spencer was in progress at press time. For details see www.winnipegfreepress.com