Jennifer Jones and her St. Vital foursome came up short in their bid to win a sixth Players’ Championship title. Jones was defeated 9-6 by Scotland’s Eve Muirhead in Sunday’s women’s final in Toronto. Muirhead scored three in the sixth end to break a 4-4 tie to take the lead for good.
Muirhead successfully defended her title winning the event for a third time. She also won in 2013 and 2015. Former Jones teammate Cathy Overton-Clapham threw second stones for Muirhead this week in place of Anna Sloan who is injured.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Manitoba rink. By advancing to the championship game Jones and her team secured enough CTRS (Canadian Team Ranking System) points to clinch a spot at the 2017 Olympic Trials in Ottawa.
Team Jones is the second team to qualify for one of the nine available spots at the Roar of the Rings, joining Ontario’s Rachel Homan.
Earlier on Sunday Jones beat Winnipeg’s Kerri Einarson in the semifinal 6-4.
In the men’s event Mike McEwen was eliminated with a 7-3 loss to Ontario’s Brad Jacobs in the semifinal.