Defending champions keep clean slate at world women’s curling

Team Switzerland, looking for a third straight title, rose to the top of the standings Monday at the 2022 BKT Tires & OK Tire World Women’s Curling Championship, presented by Nature’s Bounty, in Prince George, B.C.

The Swiss, skipped by Silvana Tirinzoni, kept its slate clean with a hard-fought 8-6 victory over skip Stefania Constantini’s Team Italy (1-4) at the CN Centre. It was the fifth straight win for the Swiss who moved closer to a playoff position in the 13-team, round-robin competition.

Team Japan, however, failed to keep pace with the Swiss, losing its first game after opening with four straight wins. The Japanese, skipped by Ikue Kitazawa, held a 5-1 lead over Team Germany after six ends, but watched in dismay as the Germans, skipped by Daniela Jentsch, kept chipping away and pulled away to a 7-5 victory.

The Germans improved their record to 2-3.

Team Korea, skipped by EunJung Kim, had an evening bye but remains the only other unbeaten team with a 4-0 record.

Team Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg moved into a two-way tie for second with the Japanese at 4-1 without having to throw a rock. The Swedes, looking to improve on the two world silver medals they gained in 2018 and 2019, were handed a win by default over Team Scotland. The Scots had to bow out of the competition after testing positive on multiple COVID-19 tests.

Canada, with a 3-2 record, had the evening bye and will play Team Japan in a key game Tuesday afternoon.

In the other game on the evening draw, Team United States rebounded from two straight losses to get back in the playoff mix. The Americans, skipped by Cory Christensen, trounced skip Marianne Roervik’s Team Norway 12-4 in a battle of 2-2 teams.

The top six teams qualify for the playoff round with the top two receiving a bye while the remaining four collide in the first round. The gold medal will be played Sunday. 

The 2022 BKT Tires & OK Tire World Women’s Curling Championship continues with draws Tuesday at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. (all times PT).

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2022 BKT Tires & OK Tire World Women’s Curling Championship are available by CLICKING HERE.

TSN and RDS2 will provide complete coverage of the 2022 BKT Tires & OK Tire World Women’s Curling Championship. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule.

For ticket information for the 2022 BKT Tires & OK Tire World Women’s Curling Championship, go to www.curling.ca/2022worldwomen/tickets/

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/2022worldwomen/nouvelles/?lang=fr