Underdogs Tran, Kleiter still rolling

LIVERPOOL, N.S.—Two teams of family members were eliminated from competition at Canada’s Olympic Trials for mixed doubles curling on Friday afternoon.

The daughter-father squad of Jaelyn and Jim Cotter lost 9-6 to the high-powered Alberta duo of Rachel Homan and Brendan Bottcher, while Jennifer Jones and husband Brent Laing fell 8-6 to Brittany Tran and Rylan Kleiter.

The winners advance to battle each other in the Page 3 vs 4 playoff game on Friday night.

The Cotters, from Vernon, B.C., had snuck into the playoffs at Queens Place Emera Centre when Kadriana and Colton Lott missed a shot for five points and the win against front-running Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant.

Both squads finished at 4-3 in their pool, with the Cotters receiving the playoff nod due to their win over the Lotts earlier in the week.

Tran (Calgary) and Kleiter (Saskatoon) were seen at the arena lounge late on Thursday night, talking with coach Dean Kleiter, following their opening playoff loss to Lisa Weagle and John Epping.

The new pairing had won their pool outright, and faced a tough challenge with Jones/Laing, the 2023 national champions. The match started with a 2-0 Jones/Laing lead before their opponents scored a three-ender for a 3-2 lead.

A few swapped singles later, Tran and Rylan Kleiter launched their power play in the seventh end and scored a deuce to lead 6-4 coming home.

Jones and Laing, representing the Barrie Curling Club in Ontario, manipulated their game-tying score of two.

In the extra end, Jones/Laing lay two after a jammed runback from Kleiter, which cleared the front.

A Kleiter come-around hit left his team shot stolen in the top eight-foot rings, which Jones ignored. Her come-around was slightly wide and a touch heavy, leaving Tran a down-weight hit for the win.

Both winning teams did their media duties and rushed off to fuel up for their 7:00 p.m. battle, which will be live-streamed on the Curling Canada YouTube page.

The Page 1 vs 2 playoff game featuring Peterman/Gallant against Weagle/Epping will also be streamed.

The semifinal goes Saturday Jan. 4 at 10:00 a.m. with the championship final set for 2:00 p.m.