Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing, the Canadian husband-and-wife duo, started their campaign at the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship with a bang, winning both their opening day matches against Scotland and the Netherlands. The 20-team week-long competition, held in Gangneung, South Korea, saw the Winnipeg team beat Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds of Scotland in the opening game before defeating Vanessa Tonoli and Wouter Goesgens of the Netherlands 10-5 in the evening draw.
Laing said the wins “settled you down a little bit” and that it was “nice to get a big win to start for sure.” The Canadians dominated the game against Scotland, scoring four in the first end and stealing one in the second, leading to an 8-4 victory after seven ends. Jones curled an impressive 89 per cent in the game, while Laing was at 73. Dodds curled at 70 per cent while Mouat was at 65.
In their second match against the Netherlands, Canada gained an early lead, scoring three points in the fifth end to take a 6-1 lead. Despite a comeback by the Dutch team, Jones’s precise draw in the eighth secured the win with a score of 10-5.
Canada currently sits tied with Australia at 2-0 atop the Group A standings, while Japan, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States, all at 1-1, sit tied for first in Group B. The event promises to be an exciting one with the best mixed doubles curling teams from around the world competing for the championship title.