MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon captured the Capital One Canada’s Cup women’s curling title Sunday to secure her spot in the 2013 Roar of the Rings.
Lawton won 6-4 over a Jennifer Jones team being skipped by Kaitlyn Lawes. Teaming up with Marliese Kasner, Sherri Singler and Sherry Anderson, Lawton scored one in the 10th end to clinch her third Canada Cup victory in front of 2,727 fans.
The men’s and women’s champions receive one of the six automatic qualification spots for the Roar of the Rings next December in Winnipeg – the tournament that will determine Canada’s entries at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
“It’s huge,” Lawton said on clinching her spot. “You count points all year – the last couple of years – to get that berth. We don’t have to worry about counting points, and where you’re ranking. . . For sure, that feels really good.”
Lawes, meanwhile, is handling skip duties for Jones’ Winnipeg rink since Jones gave birth to a baby girl two weeks ago and is also recovering from knee surgery.
Lawes’ team includes Dawn Askin, Jill Officer and Kirsten Wall.
“It was an interesting year for us,” said Lawes. “Definitely learned a lot and we had a wonderful time playing with Kirsten. It would have been nice to finish it off with her, but we’re happy with our week at the Canada Cup. To make the final is really satisfying.”
World champion Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont., was defeated by Jeff Stoughton of Winnipeg in the men’s final.
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