Big Names Bounced From Slam Playoffs
Big Names Bounced From Slam Playoffs
ST. JOHN’S—One European champion is out, the other is in.
Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni, winners of another Euro title less than a week ago in Finland, was eliminated from the KIOTO National Grand Slam this morning at the Mary Brown’s Centre.
The Saturday tiebreaker loss came to youthful Ha Seung-Youn by a 9-2 count after the Koreans built early 2-0 and 4-1 leads.
On the neighboring sheet, surprise men’s European champions Germany, skipped by Marc Muskatewitz, came through their tiebreaker against Switzerland’s Marco Hoesli 5-3 after scoring a key second deuce in the fifth end.
Team Germany on the sticks
Hoesli had made a strong charge in Friday’s pool finale against the Brad Gushue foursome, winning in an extra end.
A third Saturday tiebreaker saw Christina Black of Halifax recover from an 0-2 start to win her third straight match, 9-5 over Korea’s top Slam team skipped by Gim Eun-ji.
The women’s quarterfinals will see Black take on Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg, Ha clash with Korea’s Kim Eun-Jung, Kerri Einarson battle Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa and top-seeded Rachel Homan against Japan’s Sayaka Yoshimura.
In men’s first-round afternoon playoff action, Germany’s Slam rookies will take on Saskatchewan’s Mike McEwen, Scotland’s Ross Whyte will tussle with Italy’s Joel Retornaz, the multiple Slam-winning Scotsmen skipped by Bruce Mouat will face USA’s John Shuster, and the afternoon’s main event, according to the crowds, will be Alberta’s Brad Jacobs versus St. John’s locals Brad Gushue.
