Manitoba's Jones, Saskatchewan's Ackerman and Alberta's Sturmay improve to 3-0 at Scotties

Thirty-four years have passed since the last time an all-rookie team won the Canadian women's curling championship.

So 22-year-old Skylar Ackerman and her unbeaten team of Saskatchewan first-timers might be due.

In front of plenty of boisterous green-clad friends, families and supporters at Calgary's WinSport Event Centre on Sunday afternoon, the young crew from Saskatoon's Nutana Curling Club improved to 3-0 with a 6-5 victory over Ontario's Krista McCarville (1-2).

Tied with Ackerman on top of Pool A is another mostly-rookie team in Alberta skipped by 25-year-old Selena Sturmay, who won 8-6 over the previously unbeaten and four-time champion Kerri Einarson (2-1) of Manitoba.

On Sturmay's team from Edmonton's Saville Community Sports Centre, only second Dezaray Hawes boasts previous Scotties experience having curled the last seven years with British Columbia's Corryn Brown. That included appearances in the 2020 and 2021 national championship.

Brown was also victorious on Sunday as British Columbia (2-1) prevailed 9-5 over Prince Edward Island's Jane DiCarlo (0-3). The other matinee saw Quebec's Laurie St-Georges (1-1) win 8-7 over Newfoundland and Labrador's Stacie Curtis (0-2).

In the evening draw, Manitoba's Jennifer Jones (3-0) moved into sole possession of first place in Pool B after rolling to a 10-3 triumph over British Columbia's Clancy Grandy (2-1).

"So far, so good," said Jones. "I feel like we're playing pretty well, and we're reading the ice pretty well, and making some big shots when we have to."

WATCH | Jennifer Jones joins That Curling Show to reflect on sparkling career:

In the other late games, Manitoba's Kate Cameron (2-0) edged the Yukon's Bayly Scoffin (0-2) 6-5, New Brunswick's Melissa Adams (1-2) beat Northwest Territories' Kerry Galusha (0-3) 7-5, and Ontario's Danielle Inglis (1-2) was an 11-6 winner over Nova Scotia's Heather Smith (1-2).

Holland, now 49, is back as the alternate for Ackerman, bringing a vast resume of experience that the others might lack.

"I don't ever have an expectation to play. Especially with these girls, they've worked their butt off to get here and they deserve to be out there playing every game," said Holland. "So then my role, does it become more of a manager? Does it become more of a coach? That's a lot of the preplanning I do with the team on what my role is and where they feel comfortable having me."

As the youngest skip to ever represent Saskatchewan, Ackerman says having Holland sitting at the end of the rink alongside her Dad, Patrick, the team's coach, gives them a great additional resource.

"Amber has helped us a ton and helped us calm the nerves a little bit," she said. "We worked with her a lot about planning and how we wanted to manage our schedule, and on ice and in team debriefs after games, she's helping share her skipping experience at this level so that we can keep learning and keep building every game."