Carey a first time Scotties champ, Homan sharp on Tour in 2015-16

Chelsea Carey was the surprise winner at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts while Rachel Homan cashed in big time on Tour in 2015-16. Check out TSN.ca's recap of this past season on the women's side and what to look out for in 2016-17 when Olympic qualification ramps up.

 

Team Chelsea Carey (Calgary, Alta)

CTRS Rankings: 308.311 (4th)
WCT Money List: $44,137 (12th)
Events Won: 2

If you weren't aware of Chelsea Carey before the 2015-16 season, you surely are now. 

After skipping a young Edmonton-based rink last season, the 31-year-old Carey decided to take an opportunity in Calgary and skip Heather Nedohin's former squad. Carey alongside third Amy Nixon, second Jocelyn Peterman and lead Laine Peters had a few solid finishes on the World Curling Tour in the early going and seemed primed for a solid run at the Alberta provincials in January. And that's exactly what happened. Carey made it to the finals where she beat back-to-back Scotties finalist Val Sweeting, 8-5, to punch her ticket to the Canadian championship for just the second time of her career. In Grande Prairie, Alta., Team Carey would face off against a field that was lacking some of the game’s biggest names such as Sweeting, Ontario's Rachel Homan and Stefanie Lawton of Saskatchewan, and were the best team on the ice all week. They finished with a 9-2 record, good enough for first place after beating Team Canada's Jennifer Jones (also finished 9-2) in the opening game, 12-5. Carey and company topped the defending champs once again in the Page Playoff 1vs2 game, 7-5, and then edged Northern Ontario's Krista McCarville, 7-6, in the championship game. 

However, after all the euphoria of winning her first Scotties, the season ended on a disappointing note when Team Carey represented Canada at the world championships in Swift Current, Sask. Carey needed to medal at the Worlds in order to clinch their spot at the 2017 Canadian Olympic Trials (Dec. 2-10, 2017 from Ottawa). The squad managed to sneak into the playoff round after a win against Scotland's Eve Muirhead, but would lose to Anna Sidorova of Russia in both the Page Playoff 3vs4 game as well as the bronze medal game. Finishing fourth meant Carey lost her berth to the Trials and will have to try again next year. You could tell the loss left a sour taste in their mouths after all the hard work they put into the season.  

Team Carey finished the year off with a 1-4 record at the Players' Championship and a 1-3 showing at the Champions Cup. Aside from provincials and the Scotties, Carey's crew did not win an event this season on Tour.

This foursome will try to duplicate their first year success in 2016-17 and will represent Team Canada at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in St. Catharines. A repeat performance there partnered with a podium finish at Worlds will give Team Carey their spot at Trials back.

 

Team Rachel Homan (Ottawa, Ont)

CTRS Rankings: 583.708 (1st)
WCT Money List: $183,754 (1st)
Events Won: 7

For the third time in four years, Rachel Homan won the money title. The 27-year-old skip and her rink from the Ottawa Curling Club took home $183,754, the most of their careers. 

Team Homan won seven of their first eight events, including undefeated runs at the Masters of Curling, The National and a one loss performance at the Canadian Open on the Grand Slam circuit. They defeated Sweeting in the final of the Canada Cup in December, securing their spot at the 2017 Canadian Olympic Trials in the process.

Unfortunately, things weren't as peachy when the calendar flipped to 2016.

After coming up short at the TSN Skins Game in Banff, Alta. (they lost to Team Sweeting in the first game), Homan's squad found themselves at the Ontario Scotties as the undisputed favourites and a near lock to qualify for the national championship in Grande Prairie. This was the first time Homan participated in provincials in three years as she won the Canadian Scotties in 2013 and 2014. Everything seemed to be going well as they coasted to an 8-1 record in the round robin. That was until they encountered a resilient Jenn Hanna, also from the Ottawa Curling Club, in the final. Team Hanna stunned Team Homan by a score of 10-8 thanks to taking three in the second end and a three point steal in the eighth. The upset was one of the most memorable in recent curling history as the 36-yer-old Hanna qualified for her first Scotties since 2005 when she lost to Jennifer Jones in the final in heartbreaking fashion.  

After the Ontario Scotties, the foursome failed to win any of their three remaining events, losing to Team Jones in the Champions Cup final to close out the season on May 1.

Despite no Scotties appearance, 2015-16 has to be considered a success for this rink. They raked in a ton of cash and punched their ticket to the 2017 Trails, a excellent year for any team. Expect Team Homan at the Scotties next year in St. Catharines with a chip on their shoulders.

 

Team Jennifer Jones (Winnipeg, Man)

CTRS Rankings: 425.936 (2nd)
WCT Money List: $111,938 (4th)
Events Won: 3

Jennifer Jones and her Winnipeg rink weren’t able to defend their Scotties title this year, but still picked up big victories and a few close second-place finishes in 2015-16.

The 2014 Olympic champs won three events including the season-ending Champions Cup from Edmonton on the Grand Slam circuit, beating Team Homan in the final. They also won the TSN Skins Game for a second consecutive season, pocketing a total of $54,000 after downing Team Sweeting in the championship game. Jones and company had some tough breaks too as they lost in three finals – the Canad Inns Women’s Classic as well as the Grand Slam’s Canadian Open and Players’ Championship to Homan and Eve Muirhead respectively. They also lost in the semi-final of the Canada Cup.

After winning the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last year in Moose Jaw, Sask., Jones returned to the Canadian championship in 2016 at Team Canada in search of her sixth Scotties title. Her rink struggled early in the week, but finished second after round robin play with a 9-2 record. Unfortunately they fell to Alberta (Team Carey) in the Page Playoff 1vs2 game and then Northern Ontario (Team McCarville) in the semi-final. They settled for bronze after defeating Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson in the third place game. However, after Carey failed to medal at the world championships, Jones was given a spot to the 2017 Canadian Olympic Trails thanks to her No. 2 ranking on the CTRS.

In mid-March Jones and her husband, Brent Laing, announced they are expecting a second child. The 41-year-old Jones might miss some time to start the 2016-17 season, meaning third Kaitlyn Lawes could be called upon to run the show in her absence.  

  

Team Val Sweeting (Edmonton, Alta) 

CTRS Rankings: 347.276 (3rd)
WCT Money List: $91,955 (5th)
Events Won: 1

For the first time since 2013, Val Sweeting did not appear at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Sweeting, who had lost in the Scotties final the past two years, was upset by Team Carey in the Alberta playdowns in 2016.

After the upset at provincials, Team Sweeting would struggle the rest of the year, failing to make the semi-final round in four events played. The Edmonton rink did capture the HDF Insurance Shoot-Out, their only win of the season, in September and finished second at both the Canada Cup (defending champs) and Masters of Curling, losing in the final to Team Homan both times.

Sweeting and her crew will return to the ice next season as they try to return to the elite echelon of teams in women’s curling. 

 

Team Kerri Einarson (Winnipeg, Man)

CTRS Rankings: 289.274 (5th)
WCT Money List: $52,850 (8th)
Events Won: 2

Winnipeg’s Kerri Einarson qualified for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2016 after beating Kristy McDonald in the Manitoba final. In Grande Prairie, the 28-year-old posted a 7-4 record in the round robin, good enough for the No. 3 spot in the playoffs. Einarson fell to McCarville in the Page 3v4 game and Jones in the bronze medal contest.

On Tour, the foursome won their first event of the year in the Grand Slam Tour Challenge Tier 2, beating Amber Holland in the final. Team Einarson made the semis at the Masters of Curling (lost to Sweeting), Players’ Championship (lost to Jones) and Champions Cup (lost to Homan).

Qualifying for another Canadian championship won’t be a piece of cake for Einarson in 2016-17 as Team Jones will be back at provincials after failing to defend their title at the Scotties.  

 

Team Kelsey Rocque (Edmonton, Alta)

CTRS Rankings: 263.221 (6th)
WCT Money List: $115,205 (3rd)
Events Won: 2

At just 22 years of age, Kelsey Roque led her young Edmonton squad to a top three finish on the World Curling Tour Money List this season in her first year playing with the top curlers on the planet.

Rocque, a world junior champ in 2014 and 2015, took over for Carey who skipped third Laura Crocker, second Taylor McDonald and lead Jen Gates for one season prior to 2015-16. After three straight semi-final losses, the foursome finally broke through at the Red Deer Classic in October, beating the 2015 world champion Alina Paetz and her Swiss squad in the final to claim their first event win. Team Rocque also took the Uiseong Masters in Korea on the Curling Champions Tour and had quarter-final finishes at four Grand Slams. They failed to make it to the playoff round at the Alberta Scotties.

Roque definitely kicked her pro curling career off on the right foot this season. The future looks bright for Team Rocque despite the fact they curl out of one of the toughest provinces in Canada. What does 2016-17 have in store for them?

 

Team Tracy Fleury (Sudbury, NO)

CTRS Rankings: 239.879 (7th)
WCT Money List: $46,993 (9th)
Events Won: 0

Team Tracy Fleury were unable to get back to the Scotties championship after falling to McCarville in the Northern Ontario Playdowns, 8-4. They made one other final all year, The National in Oshawa on the Grand Slam schedule, where they lost to Team Homan, 5-4.

Next season will be the seventh year Fleury's foursome has been together.

 

Team Stefanie Lawton (Saskatoon, Sask)

CTRS Rankings: 212.449 (8th)
WCT Money List: $35,500 (15th)
Events Won: 1

Saskatoon's Stefanie Lawton was upset by Jolene Campbell of Regina, 7-4, in the Saskatchewan provincial final. The 35-year-old Lawton had appeared in the last two Scotties before running into Campbell.

Team Lawton, who welcomed vice Trish Paulsen this year, won one event on Tour in the Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic. Their best Grand Slam performance was at The National where they made it to the semis before losing to Homan and her Ottawa rink.

Paulsen will be replaced by Beth Iskiw while Jesse Iles will take over for Marliese Kasner at lead for the 2016-17 season. 

    

Team Krista McCarville (Thunder Bay, NO)

CTRS Rankings: 187.920 (9th)
WCT Money List: $30,230 (16th)
Events Won: 5

Thunder Bay's Krista McCarville had the best season of her curling career in 2015-16. The 33-year-old returned to competitive curling after taking a year off and was on fire right from the get go. Her foursome won four of its first five events including the U.S. Open of Curling from Blaine, Minnesota. 

McCarville's good fortunes continued at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (her first appearance since 2010) where she made a surprising run all the way to the finals. Unfortunately she had to settle for silver after losing a heartbreaker to Carey, but still accumulated enough points to finish in the top 10 of the CTRS rankings. Their only Grand Slam appearance came at the Champions Cup where they went 1-3 and failed to make the playoff round.

Team McCarville have confirmed they'll be back with the same squad in 2016-17.

 

Team Silvana Tirinzoni (Switzerland)  

CTRS Rankings: NA
WCT Money List: $129,847 (2nd)
Events Won: 3

Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni finished second on the WCT Money List after playing in a ton of events (14) with numerous solid finishes. Aside from her three victories, Team Tirinzoni lost in four finals and three semis including the last two Grand Slams in the Players' Championship and Champions Cup. If they weren't winning, they were at least finishing high and making good cash in the process.

The 36-year-old Tirinzoni has now finished in the top 10 on the money list in each of the past five seasons.

 

Notable

Eve Muirhead (Scotland)

CTRS Rankings: NA
WCT Money List: $72,995 (6th)
Events Won: 2

Following a slow start, Scottish skip Eve Muirhead finished the season off strong. The shining moment for Team Muirhead in 2015-16 came when they won their third Players' Championship over a four-year span in April. Muirhead downed Jones, 9-6, in the final to take home a big pay cheque back to Scotland.

The win in Toronto came on the heels of a tough world championship in Swift Current, Sask. where they failed to make the playoff round.

Muirhead announced they'll be replacing Sarah Reid at lead for 2016-17.

 

Binia Feltscher (Switzerland)

CTRS Rankings: NA
WCT Money List: $26,042 (20th)
Events Won: 3 

Binia Feltscher must love playing in enemy territory. For the second time in three years the Swiss skip won the women's world championship in Canada after taking down Japan's Satsuki Fujisawa in the championship game from Swift Current. It was the third straight year a Swiss rink stood atop the podium at the women's worlds. The 37-year-old Feltscher won gold in 2014 from Saint John, NB and Alina Paetz won it all last year in Japan.

Team Feltscher also won two events on Tour in 2015-16, but failed to make the playoff round in any of the three Grand Slams they played in.

 

Anna Sidorova (Russia)

CTRS Rankings: NA
WCT Money List: $44,197 (11th)
Events Won: 1

Anna Sidorova won her third straight bronze medal at the world championships and also secured a CCT victory this season. At just 25, it appears Sidorova and her Russian rink will be one of the best non-Canadian teams for years to come. 

 

Satsuki Fujisawa (Japan)

CTRS Rankings: NA
WCT Money List: $$15,820 (25th)
Events Won: 0 

Satsuki Fujisawa and her Japanese squad stunned many with their surprising run at the world championships. They finished the round robin with a 9-2 record and made it to the finals after a 7-5 semifinal win over Russia. Team Fujisawa would fight hard, but their Cinderella run ultimately fell short with a loss to the Swiss.