Rachel Homan and Brendan Bottcher remained undefeated at the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials with a 7-3 win over Jessica Zheng and Victor Pietrangelo in Tuesday’s morning draw in Liverpool, N.S.
The duo improved to 3-0 with the victory, good for a share of first place in the Pool A standings with Laura Walker and Kirk Muyres.
Homan and Bottcher scored one in the fifth end to take a 4-3 lead, then blew open what was initially a close game with steals of one in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Walker and Muyres kept pace with a 9-5 win over Brittany Tran and Rylan Kleiter, putting the game away by scoring three in the sixth end.
Zheng and Pietrangelo dropped to 1-2 while Tran and Kleiter dropped to 2-1.
In other early draw scores, Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing improved to 2-1 with an 8-2 win over Robert Desjardins and Anne-Sophie Gionest (0-3) and Paige Papley and Evan Van Amsterdam upped their record to 1-2 with a 7-4 win over Nancy Martin and Steve Laycock (0-3).
In Pool B action, Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman improved to 3-0 along with John Epping and Lisa Weagle.
Gallant and Peterman got a ninth-end steal for a 7-6 win over Melissa Adams and Alex Robichaud (0-3), while Epping and Weagle scored two in the seventh and stole one in the eighth for a 10-8 comeback win over the father-daughter duo of Jim and Jaelyn Cotter (2-1).
In other Draw 6 results, Kadriana Lott and Colton Lott (2-1) posted an 8-5 win over Taylor Reese-Hansen and Corey Chester (0-3) and Riley Sandham and Brendan Craig (1-2) earned a 7-5 victory over Jennifer Armstrong and Tyrel Griffith (1-2).
Two more draws were scheduled for Tuesday.
The top three teams from each pool will advance to the playoffs starting Thursday. The final is set for Saturday.
The winning duo will represent Canada at the world championship this April in Fredericton, which will determine most of the countries who will compete in mixed doubles at the Milan-Cortina Olympics in Italy in 2026.
If Canada qualifies, the trials winner will also wear the Maple Leaf at the Games.
Canada’s Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris won gold when mixed doubles made its Olympic debut at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games in South Korea.
Morris and Homan missed the playoffs at the Beijing Games in 2022.
