2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Preview

Rachel Homan and her Ottawa rink will look to join elite company in Moose Jaw. Only three teams have won the Canadian championship in back-to-back-to-back years. Vera Pezer of Saskatchewan won from 1971-73, then Colleen Jones of Nova Scotia won four in a row from 2001-2004 and finally Jennifer Jones took three consecutive Scotties titles from 2008-2010. Joining that group of curlers will be quite the career achievement for the foursome who has an average age of just 26. Team Homan has yet to win an event on the World Curling Tour this season as they've lost in four finals including the Canada Cup to Val Sweeting and the Autumn Gold Curling Classic to Jennifer Jones. Sweeting and Jones will likely be Homan's toughest competition at the 2015 Scotties. Despite the first place finishes being non-existent this season, Homan has still raked in a good chunk of cash, as she sits third on WCT money list and also won $52, 000 at the TSN Skins Game. The team will have a new second at this year's tournament as Joanne Courtney, formerly of Team Sweeting, joined Homan's squad after Alison Kreviazuk moved to Sweden in the off-season.  

Jennifer Jones is making her return to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts after missing the event in 2014 as she and her squad from Winnipeg were too busy winning gold for Canada at the Sochi Olympics. Well the 40-year-old Jones is back after going undefeated at the Manitoba Scotties and is looking to capture her fifth career Canadian championship. A victory would be extra special for 26-year-old Kaitlyn Lawes who replaced vice Cathy Overton-Clapham in 2010, a season after the team’s last Scotties title. Team Jones has had a very good year so far, winning three events on the WCT including the Autumn Gold Curling Classic in Calgary and the Karuizawa International in Japan. Jones should be a lock to make the playoff round and will be a tough challenge for the defending champs in Team Homan.

Val Sweeting had arguably the toughest road to the Scotties this year. Playing in the Alberta provincials, she had to beat rinks led by the likes of Chelsea Carey, Shannon Kleibrink, Heather Nedohin and Crystal Webster. The 27-year-old ran the table with a 5-0 record including a 9-7 victory over Carey in the finals, punching her second straight ticket to the Scotties. Sweeting fell to Homan in the 2014 finals in Montreal. The Edmonton foursome has had an interesting season to date with Andrea Crawford, the curler brought in to replace Joanne Courtney, leaving the team the night before the first Grand Slam of the year in October. Cathy Overton-Clapham filled the void as they found their groove pretty quickly, winning The Masters a few days later. Sweeting also got revenge of sorts when she beat Team Homan in the Canada Cup final, this time with her now full-time vice Lori Olson-Johns contributing. Team Sweeting appears to be ready to capture their first Scotties title in 2015.

Stefanie Lawton will have the crowd behind her at these Scotties as the 34-year-old Saskatoon skip will play in front of her home province. Lawton has missed most of the season due to the birth of her son in October, but is back and ready to go. Lawton lost only once during the provincial playdowns in Assiniboia and defeated Michelle Englot in the final to punch her ticket to a second consecutive national championship. She finished fourth last year in Montreal and could improve on that rank with the hometown support.

Mary-Anne Arsenault is no stranger to the Scotties Tournament of Heats as she'll be making her 12th appearance at the Canadian championship in Moose Jaw. She won five titles in six years from 1999-2004, playing second for Colleen Jones. Arsenault defeated Theresa Breen in the Nova Scotia final. The 46-year-old started her own rink in 2007 and has appeared in two Scotties since. She finished sixth in 2008 and seventh in 2013. It might be tough, but Arsenault could find herself in the playoff round if she can find her groove. 

Julie Hastings of North York will make her first appearance of her long curling career at the Scotties in 2015. She beat Sherry Middaugh in the finals of the Ontario Scotties after losing to Allison Flaxey in last year’s final. The foursome is having their best season to date, winning twice on the WCT including the KW Fall Classic and Stroud Sleeman Cash Spiel. The 39-year-old might just ride that momentum into a playoff spot at nationals, but it surely won’t be easy. 

Heather Strong defeated Stephanie Guzwell 6-4 in the provincial final and will wear Newfoundland's colours for the 12th time in her career at this year's Scotties. She hasn't had much success at this tournament in the past though, as she's never reached a podium or made the playoff round.

Patti Knezevic will play in the Scotties for a second consecutive year, this time with her very own rink. The Prince George skip was an alternate for Kesa Van Osch’s BC team in 2014, and even played in two games when Osch was stricken with an illness, but Knezevic will lead her own foursome this time around. She went a perfect 5-0 in the BC Scotties and bettered Sarah Wark by a score of 5-3 in the finals. Knezevic lost in the province’s championship game in both 2005 and 2013.

Montreal skip Lauren Mann will make her Scotties debut in Moose Jaw as her rink won eight of 10 games in the Quebec playdowns in Victoriaville, defeating Roxanne Perron 10-6 in the final. Brittany O’Rourke, the team’s second, represented Quebec at the past two Scotties as part of Allison Ross’ rink.

Charlottetown's Suzanne Birt qualified for her eighth Scotties Tournament of Hearts when she topped Kathy O'Rourke in the provincial final in Summerside. The 33-year-old won the World Junior Curling championship in 2001 and grabbed the bronze at the 2003 Scotties in Kitchener. Birt's foursome has only played in two events on the World Curling Tour this season, failing to advance to the playoff round in both.

Moncton's Sylvie Robichaud was the last rink to qualify for the 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The foursome will make their second Canadian championship appearance after they defeated Melissa Adams of Fredericton 7-6 in the provincial final. Robichaud scored two points in the 10th and final end to secure their spot in Moose Jaw. Her previous appearance at the Scotties was in 2008 when her rink finished dead last with a record of 1-10.

Tracy Horgan and her Sudbury rink will be the first representatives from Northern Ontario in Scotties' history this year. Horgan has made one prior appearance at the national championship, in 2012, when she sported Ontario colours. The team finished with a 4-7 record in that year's tournament. The 28-year-old is having a very solid season to date, grabbing two victories on the WCT including the DEKALB Superspiel where she beat reigning Olympic champion Jennifer Jones in the final in her home province of Manitoba. She beat Kendra Lilly in the Northern Ontario finals. Horgan will have to beat both the Northwest Territories and Yukon to qualify for the main draw, but if she does that, Horgan could be a dark horse in Moose Jaw.

Sarah Koltun’s rink will be the youngest at this year’s Scotties. At the age of just 21, Koltun will be making her second career appearance at the national championship in Moose Jaw. Last year she finished tied for last place with a 2-9 record and should improve on that if she qualifies for the main draw. The Whitehorse skip has played in five events this season, failing to advance to the playoff round in any of them. Koltun is in prime position to be a competitive rink for years to come.

Kerry Galusha, the sister of curlers Kevin and Jamie Koe, will be vying for her 12th appearance at the Scotties in the qualification round. The Yellowknife skip has played in two tournaments this year, failing to get by the quarterfinals in each.