Anderson rink advances to championship pool at Scotties

Photo Courtesy of Curling Canada

Sherry Anderson and her rink from the Nutana Curling Club in Saskatoon are in the mix for a spot in the playoffs at the 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary.

After posting a 6-2 mark to lead the way in Pool B play, Anderson is tied for the third and final playoff spot with Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones and Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges as the top eight rinks in the round-robin start championship pool play on Friday afternoon.

Ontario’s Rachel Homan and Team Canada’s Kerri Einarson lead the way at 7-1, while Alberta’s Laura Walker and a pair of Wild Card rinks skipped by Beth Peterson and Chelsea Carey sit at 5-3.

“I don’t think anything’s going to change, other than just going out and trying to make more shots and be a little more precise,” Anderson said during a virtual press conference on Thursday night.

“I know that I can make a few more shots and that’s my goal here over the next four games.”

Following a 7-6 setback to New Brunswick’s Melissa Adams on Tuesday morning, Anderson and her teammates Nancy Martin, Chaelynn Kitz and Breanne Knapp rattled four straight wins.

They officially clinched the top spot in Pool B thanks to a 9-3 victory over Newfoundland and Labrador’s Sarah Hill on Thursday night, as their wins over Jones and St-Georges earlier in the week gave them the advantage in the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Anderson will open up her championship pool slate at 1:30 p.m. Friday against Einarson, before a 7:30 p.m. tilt with Peterson.

Her rink will then go up against Walker at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, with a matchup against Homan slated for 7:30 p.m. that night.

Unlike previous years, a Page playoff format will not be used as the top team in the standings will go to Sunday’s final, while the second and third place rinks will meet up in the semifinal that afternoon.

A tiebreaker game, if necessary, would be held Sunday morning.

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