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Roar of the Rings day 1: Jacobs off to strong start (photos)

Pictured: Brad Jacobs encourages his teammates during their first match against Team Stoughton. SHAWN COATES PHOTO SooToday.

Pictured: Brad Jacobs encourages his teammates during their first match against Team Stoughton. SHAWN COATES PHOTO

SooToday.com would like to welcome Shawn Coates, who is providing daily coverage of Team Brad Jacobs from the Roar of the Rings Olympic trial curling event in Winnipeg.

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Special to SooToday by Shawn Coates

WINNIPEG, MB - The Brad Jacobs team got off to a strong start at the 2013 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings Olympic Curling trials, defeating  Jeff Stoughton of Winnipeg 7-4 in what appeared to be an effortless match.

Jacobs made a key straight double-back takeout in the fifth end to lead 4-1 at the break. Stoughton replied with two in the sixth but that would be the closest he would get. Jacobs added two more in the eighth to eventually cruise to a 7-4 victory.

“We were able to take the crowd out of it, which was huge,” Jacobs said after the match. “Having the hammer was big. The guys played great in front of me and all I had to do was make a bunch of peels.”

Stoughton said his squad didn’t do enough to pressure Jacobs.

“There wasn’t much we could,” said Stoughton. “We couldn’t make a tough shot. We didn’t do much wrong – not great, not bad. We’d rather win the first game than lose it but we’re not going to hang our head.”

Pictured: Team Brad Jacobs acknowledges the crowd December 1, 2013 at the opening cermeonies of the Roar of the Rings in Winnipeg, MB. SHAWN COATES PHOTO

While beating the hometown favorite was important, Jacobs put the win in perspective.

“It doesn’t matter who you draw, every team is going to be really good,” he said. “We’re happy to get that first win. They (Team Stoughton) are probably going to be in at the end of the week but for us, that’s a big first win.”

The big shot at the conclusion of the fifth end gave the Jacobs team confidence to drive to victory.

“That kind of got us going. We were winning 2-1 at that point and that deuce extended the lead nicely. It boosted everyone up a little bit at the end of five,” said Jacobs.

In other men’s matches, Kevin Martin defeated Mike McEwen 5-3, John Epping beat Kevin Koe 9-8 and John Morris won over Glenn Howard 8-6.

In women’s action, the feature contest of Draw 1 involved two Winnipeg teams: Jennifer Jones and Chelsea Carey. Jones, representing the Charleswood Curling Club, took on a familiar foe in Carey, who represents the Fort Rouge Curling Club.

Trailing 1-0 in the third end, Carey delivered a rock that appeared to pick up some debris on the ice, resulting in a missed shot that allowed Jones to steal two. Jones then put the game away in the sixth, scoring six en route to a 10-2 drubbing of Chelsea Carey.

In other women’s matches, Sherry Middaugh defeated Stefanie Lawton 5-3, Val Sweeting smoked Rachel Homan 10-3 in nine ends and Renee Sonnenberg edged Heather Nedohin 8-6 in a thriller.

There are three draws of action Monday, Dec. 2. The women are on the ice at 8:30 a.m., the men follow at 1:30 p.m. and then the women return to action at 6:30 p.m. All times are Central Standard Time.

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