Canadian women still looking for first win at World Juniors

It’s been a slow start for Corryn Brown, who’s still looking for a win at the 2013 World Junior Curling Championships in Sochi, Russia. Brown and her team from Kamloops, B.C. — third Erin Pincott, second Samantha Fisher, lead Sydney Fraser with alternate Cathlia Ward and coach Ken Brown — lost 9-4 to Sayaka Yoshimura of Japan on Sunday morning.

Samantha Fisher, Sydney Fraser and Erin Pincott of Team Canada watch the opposition’s shot (Photo WCF/Alina Pavliuchik)

The game started well with the teams trading deuces, but a couple of steals by Yoshimura, who sits 4-0 tied for Scotland at the top of the standings, put Canada behind 4-2 by the break. Japan stole again in the 10th when Brown’s shot to tie the game just floated wide. “We had some good momentum at the beginning but then we kind of let it down a bit in the middle,” said Brown. “I think pressure definitely is a factor and I think having the maple leaf on your back is a big target,” she said. “We just have to give it our everything out there and hopefully pull out a couple of wins in the next couple of games.” At 0-4, Canada faces an uphill climb to catch up with the likes of Japan and defending world champion Hannah Fleming of Scotland, who carry 4-0 records into play Monday. On the men’s side, Winnipeg’s Matt Dunstone (3-2) and his team — third Colton Lott, second Daniel Grant, lead Brendan MacCuish, alternate Josh Barry and coach Scott Grant – lost to Sweden’s Patric Mabergs (3-2) in a close 6-4 contest that came down to last rock. “No game is easy. And that’s what surprised me most,” said Dunstone. “We go in thinking ‘okay this might be our easy game’ but every game has come down to last rock. We’re just happy to be here and happy to be in close games.” “The guys work hard,” he said. “They do anything they can to make us win and they’ve done all they can so far, so I couldn’t ask any more of them.” With a 3-2 record, Canada is part of a four-way tie for third with Italy’s Amos Mosaner, Russia’s Evgeny Arkhipov and the Swedes. Norway’s Eirik Mjøen and Scotland’s Kyle Smith lead the pack with 4-0 records. Both men’s and women’s teams are in action only once on Monday. The women face Czech Republic’s Iveta Janatova (5 a.m. EST), while Team Canada men will meet Italy’s Amos Mosaner (10 a.m. EST). The women’s game can be seen on the World Curling Federation’s YouTube Channel found here: www.youtube.com/WorldCurlingTV The live coverage schedule is available along with news, live scores and galleries on the event website: https://wjcc2013.curlingevents.com For team line-ups visit: https://www.wjcc2013.curlingevents.com/teams