McEwen, Jones rocking in Ontario

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This article was published 21/11/2011 (5371 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It took a little longer than usual for Mike McEwen, but he’s back in the semifinals at an Asham World Curling Tour event.

The skip from Winnipeg went through the B-side on Sunday to clinch one of eight quarter-final berths at the Sun Life Classic in Brantford, Ont. Then he moved into today’s semis with a 6-3 win over Edmonton’s Kevin Koe in the night draw.

McEwen has been to the final in four of the five events he’s entered this season and took home the trophy three times to open up a sizable lead on the money list.

McEwen has won bonspiels in Saskatoon, Portage la Prairie, Man., and Brooks, Alta., and ran the table in two of those victories. He’s already amassed $73,000 in earnings and has a $39,000 lead over Edmonton’s Kevin Martin heading into today’s action.

The margin of victory over Koe, the 2010 world champion, is misleading as McEwen scored three in an extra end to secure the win.

McEwen is the lone Canadian team in the semis. He’ll play Switzerland’s Sven Michel today, while Denmark’s Rasmus Stjerne plays Sweden’s Niklas Edin.

Michel made short work of Greg Balsdon of Kingston, Ont., winning 8-2. Stjerne eliminated Toronto’s Mark Kean 6-2, while Edin took out Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont., 5-4.

On the women’s side, defending champion Jennifer Jones moved into the semifinals with a relatively easy 7-2 win over Allison Nimik of Elmvale, Ont. Jones scored three in the second and stole one in the third to open a 4-1 lead and never looked back.

Jones will play Sherry Middaugh of Coldwater in today’s semi. Middaugh beat Laura Crocker of Waterloo, Ont., 7-3 in her quarter.

Heather Smith-Dacey of Halifax and American Erika Brown will play in the other semi. Smith-Dacey beat Krista McCarville of Thunder Bay, Ont., 7-3 in her quarter, while Brown needed just four ends to beat Scotland’s Eve Muirhead 8-2.

In Stonewall, Man., Winnipeg’s David Bohn and Chris Galbraith won their B-side qualifiers at the Interlake Pharmacy Classic and will be in today’s six-team playoff.

A pair of Winnipeg skips, Jeff Stoughton and Dean Dunstone, earned byes to the semis by winning the A-side on Saturday.

William Lyburn and Scott Ramsay, both of Winnipeg, made it in through the C-side.

In women’s action, Barb Spencer of Winnipeg locked up a semifinal berth with a 6-5 win over crosstown rival Joelle Brown. Betty Buurma of Carberry, Man., is also in the semis after a 5-4 win over Winnipeg’s Janet Harvey. The other two quarter-finals were played later Sunday.

In Wainwright, Alta., Edmonton’s Randy Ferbey and Brad Heidt of Kindersley, Sask., are in the eight-team playoffs at the Wainwright Roaming Buffalo Classic after winning the B-side finals on Sunday.

Ted Appelman and Jamie King, both of Edmonton, made it through the A-side on Saturday. Four C-side spots were on the line on Sunday night.

— Postmedia News