2017_Manitoba_Scotties_Tournament_of_Hearts
2017 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts
Curling competition at Winnipeg, Manitoba
The 2017 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the provincial women's curling championship of Manitoba, was held from January 25 to 29 at the Eric Coy Arena in Winnipeg. The winning Michelle Englot team represented Manitoba at the 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in St. Catharines, Ontario, finishing second.
The event was most notable for the defeat of the defending Olympic champion Jennifer Jones rink in the semifinal.[1] Jones lost to Darcy Robertson who proceeded to lose to the Michelle Englot rink in the final. Englot, who is a resident of Regina, Saskatchewan had won seven provincial titles in her home province, but joined her new Winnipeg-based team in the 2016 off season, replacing their previous skip Kristy McDonald who had lost in the final of the 2016 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts. It was the first provincial title for Englot's third, Kate Cameron, while second Leslie Wilson-Westcott and lead Raunora Westcott won their third provincial titles.[2]
Jennifer Jones' loss in the semifinal would mark the first time since 2004 that she would not win a provincial tournament she had participated in.[3] Jones cited a number of factors for her team's loss stating "the ice was tricky today ... draw shots were harder and it was a struggle with draw weight for everybody".[1] Jones' semifinal loss was her second in a row, after having won all seven of her round robin games.[4]
After the event, Jones was awarded as the tournament's all-star skip, Cameron was named all-star third, Vanessa Foster (Team Robertson) was named all-star second and Mariah Mondor (Team Birchard) was named all-star lead.[5]
