MEDICINE HAT, Alta. — Edmonton’s Serena Gray-Withers is right where she belongs in the Grand Slam of Curling presented by Molson Canadian.
After competing in four Tier 2 events and winning last season’s Jr. GSOC U25 event, Gray-Withers made her top-flight debut in the series Tuesday at the P&H Masters.
Gray-Withers faced reigning world champion Xenia Schwaller of Switzerland during Draw 2 on the opening day of action. No pressure, right?
The 25-year-old skip handled it like a seasoned pro, drawing to the button to defeat Schwaller 6-5 in a shootout.
"Oh my gosh, it's so exciting to be here," Gray-Withers said. "This is where we want to be, this is where we train to be, so it's awesome to be able to have this opportunity to play on the surface against super, amazing teams."
Schwaller took a 3-2 lead in the fourth end after splitting up the house to draw for a deuce. After singles back and forth, Schwaller rolled deep on her last in the seventh, allowing Gray-Withers to draw for two and jump back ahead 5-4. Schwaller settled for a single in the eighth to force the shootout.
After Gray-Withers planted her rock right on the button, Schwaller needed to cover the pin at the very least, but her shot came up well short.
"I think we're just taking it one shot at a time, being patient out there," Gray-Withers said. "Our team made a ton of shots, so did they, but just pulled it out in the shootout, so super happy."
Gray-Withers is supported by third Catherine Clifford, lead Zoe Cinnamon and new second Laura Walker, who joined the team during the off-season. Walker has returned to women's curling full-time after spending the previous Olympic cycle focusing on mixed doubles. She also subbed with Team Kaitlyn Lawes, earning silver at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last season.
"She's the best," Gray-Withers said. "She just brings a lot of confidence to our team, a super experienced player, and we're just lucky to have her."
P&H Masters: Tickets | Draw Schedule/Results | Broadcast Schedule
Sturmay stops Homan in shootout
Edmonton’s Selena Sturmay also scored a shootout victory to start the P&H Masters, upending Ottawa’s Rachel Homan 5-4 in Draw 2.
The 20-time Grand Slam champ Homan drew to the top of the four-foot circle, opening the door for Sturmay to land on the lid and win the match.
"It feels great," Sturmay said. "All these games are really tough, and that was our goal going into this event. Just leave me a shot, draw the button for the win. The girls managed it great, so I can't ask for anything better."
It’s been quite the start to the season for Sturmay, who is second in the year-to-date world rankings with three title wins on tour. That includes the Autumn Gold Curling Classic, part of the GSOC Satellite Events series, which secured Sturmay a berth into the P&H Masters.
“The season's been going really good so far,” Sturmay said. “The girls and I have put in a ton of work, just technically and tactically, trying to be a little bit better on club ice. We're a good team on arena ice and when the ice is good, but just figuring out how to grind out those wins on a little bit more challenging ice. I think we've done a great job on that.”
Reese-Hansen wins rematch over Pätz
Taylor Reese-Hansen and her team were experiencing deja vu when they faced Team Alina Pätz in Draw 3.
The Victoria-based crew played in their first GSOC major tournament last month on home ice at the Co-op Invitational. Reese-Hansen defeated Pätz’s Swiss squad 8-4 to win on debut, and the two teams met again on Tuesday to kick off another Grand Slam event.
The rematch wasn’t quite a repeat. Reese-Hansen stole four in the first, but had to fight back and escape with an 8-7 victory.
“I think when we saw the schedule we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, it's literally just like rinse and repeat from our first Slam experience,’” Reese-Hansen said. “We knew that it was going to be a tough game. Every game out here is a grind. We cracked that four-ball early in the first end and just weren't able to quite hold on to our lead. Luckily, an uncharacteristic miss on her last one there, and we were able to come away, so it feels really good. It felt like a battle out there.”
Although Pätz started with the hammer, she was light on her last in the opening end to give up four.
The Olympic silver medallist and six-time Grand Slam champ Pätz took two back in the second end to cut the deficit in half.
After alternating singles, Reese-Hansen hit and rolled out to give up a steal of two in the fifth, and conceded another point in the sixth after a measurement, as Pätz pulled ahead 6-5.
Reese-Hansen rebounded with a huge double takeout to score three in the seventh and jump back ahead 8-6.
It looked like Pätz would tie it in the eighth and force a shootout. Pätz needed to hit and stick, but her shooter rolled out of the rings.
“Up and down and up and down,” Reese-Hansen said. “I think we did a good job of capitalizing on the opportunities that were given to us. We gave them a few as well that we'd like to clean up moving forward for the rest of the week, but yeah, it was definitely a roller-coaster out there.”
After the game, Team Gray-Withers gifted Team Reese-Hansen with “Hyphenated Girlies” sweatshirts.
“Our besties, Team Gray-Withers, we always talk about how we're the Hyphenated Girlies, so they came and they surprised us with these sweatshirts, and they're super cool,” Reese-Hansen said. “We always cheer for them. They're such a great group of girls and it's fun to be kind of at the same stage of our curling careers together and we're kind of coming up together in Canada. It's really cool. We're stoked on these sweaters.”
Alberta in the house
Alberta curling fans have several options to cheer for this week, with seven teams representing the province in the tournament.
Both Gray-Withers and Sturmay had supporters' sections at Co-op Place, with friends and family cheering them on.
"It's super awesome," Gray-Withers said. "We have a lot of family here as well, so just being able to make a ton of shots in front of them, have fun, and just enjoy the moment."
"It's super fun," Sturmay added. "We have a lot of fans here cheering for us. Playing in a big event at home is always really nice and it's just nice to have that family here to support you as well."
No dice for Homan, Schwaller
The series tweaked the points structure for shootouts ahead of the P&H Masters. The team without the hammer no longer earns a point if they lose in the shootout.
As a result, Schwaller and Homan walked away empty-handed from their games.
