Niagara Falls, Ontario. — Italian skip Joel Letornas remained undefeated Thursday with an 8-2 victory over defending Olympic champion Niklas Edin in the Grand Slam Hearing Life Tour Challenge.
Retornaz got off to a strong start, scoring four points in the first end, and stole two bases in the fourth to give his team an 8-1 lead.
The Swedish quartet, led by Edin, gave up just one run in the fifth inning, leaving their record with one win and two losses.
Retornaz is tied for first place on the boys’ list at 3-0 with Ross White of Sterling, Ont., who scored two points in nine overtime ends in an 8-6 win over Japan’s Riku Yanagisawa.
In other Draw 11 results, reigning world champion Bruce Mouat (Scotland) fell to 0-3 against Calgary’s Kevin Coe (2-1) with nine ends, 5-4. Winnipeg’s Reed Carruthers then scored three points in the seventh end for a 7-3 victory over American John Shuster. Both teams were 1-2.
In Thursday’s early men’s draw, Matt Dunstone defeated Brendan Bottcher 7-1 in a battle of Canadian skips.
Dunston, from Kamloops, British Columbia, scored three points in the fourth end and added three more in the sixth end for the win.
Bottcher, a native of Spruce Grove, Alta., threw a game-low 75 percent. His team recently rose to the top of the men’s world rankings.
In other early matches, Brad Gashue of St. John’s, New Jersey, lost a 6-5 decision to Yannick Schwaller of Switzerland in overtime.
Magnus Ramsfjell of Norway defeated Wouter Gosgens of the Netherlands 7-6, and Aaron Sluchinski of Airdrie, Alta., defeated Cory Dropkin of the United States 5-4.
Winnipeg’s Caitlin Rose was the only Canadian skip in the draw of 10. Her team scored a deuce in the seventh end, winning 6-3 against American Tabitha Peterson.
South Korea’s Eun Ji Gim defeated Sweden’s Isabella Lana 8-3, and Norway’s Marianne Rorvik defeated Scotland’s Rebecca Morrison 7-6. Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni defeated Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa 4-2.
In Draw 12, Kelly Einarsson of Gimli, Mass. defeated South Korea’s Soon-Young Ha 7-5.
Coach Einarson’s team used a four-point sixth end to rally from a 4-1 deficit and a deuce in the eighth end to break a 5-5 tie and win.
Defending champion Rachel Homan of Beaumont, Alta., suffered her first loss, falling 8-7 to Stefania Constantini of Italy. Homan scored five points in the seventh end to tie the score at 7-7, before dropping the game in the eighth and final end.
In other matches, Jennifer Jones lost 6-2 to fellow Canadian Kate Cameron, and Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg defeated Clancy Grundy of Coquitlam, British Columbia, 5-4.
The game continues through Sunday at the Gale Center.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2023.
