A Junior Team Competing in 2010? It’s Possible!

An interesting title isn’t it….and of course it could never come true.  Or could it?  If you look right now at our CTRS Women’s standings you’ll see a team called Homan, Rachel sitting in 8th spot. If you are an avid CTRS watcher you will know that this team has been on the CTRS list for the last two seasons – not bad for a normal women’s team….but extremely good for a junior women’s team!  And let me tell you this is know normal junior women’s teams.
Team Rachel Homan

Team Rachel Homan

The Ottawa based foursome is coached by Earle Morris and have had some great success the last two seasons – mainly in the ranks of their elders.   I believe they average our at 18 years old just for your knowledge – but you should know they have already won two events on the World Curling Tour this year; the London event, in which they defended their title from last year, and just his past weekend, an Ottawa area event in which they beat Sherry Middaugh in the final, 2008 U.S.A. Women’s Champ Deb McCormick in the semi and former Scotties finalist Jenn Hanna in the quarters.  In that event they averaged 8.04 pts for per game and only gave up 5.29 points per game! Let’s play the game of pretending the season ended today and hand out the Trials spots to the women’s side of things!  Now there have to be a lot of assumptions in this game as no major has been played this year.  There are four spots given out for winning events this season: The Canada Cup, The Scotties, The Player’s Championship and the CTRS list.   Let’s assume those events/CTRS are won by teams already qualified – which isn’t far off if you have some money to bet!  If that happens those spots then go to this year’s CTRS list.  This would mean that with Kleibrink, Bernard and Scott in the top three spots and already qualified for one of the Trials/Pre-Trials, the first spot would go to Michelle Englot, the second to Heather Rankin and the third to …..yep you guessed it….Rachel Homan! If you have the priviledge to watch these young ladies play you will begin to understand that their CTRS standing is no fluke.  If they qualify would they have a chance to win the Pre-Trials and then the Trials?  Well arguably if we are simply going on age and experience they had no right winning the events they have won.  Let me give you a breakdown of the teams they have beat in the last two years in the three big women’s events they have won:
  • Sherry Middaugh – 2008 Ontario STOH Winner,
  • Anne Dunn – former Canadian and World Senior Women’s Champion
  • Hollie Nicol – current Canadian University Champion
  • Patti Lank – former USA Women’s Champion
  • Team Wang – current Team China and World runner-up to Jennifer Jones
  • Deb McCormick – as mentioned above
  • Jennifer Jones – current Canadian and World Champion (Homan beat them twice in London in 2007)
Need I go on?  You can see then that they are slowly building up their own confidence that they have the ability to not only beat these types of teams randomly but consistently when they are playing at the top of their game. Keep an eye on these girls.  Trust me.