‘Unbeaten’, ‘undaunted’, ‘unprecedented’ … that’s the way to describe Rachel Homan’s unreal roll to a second straight title triumph at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Although perfect actually sums it up … well … perfectly.
On Sunday evening, the superstar skip and her decorated Ottawa rink put the finishing touches — perfection, really — on another Canadian women’s curling championship to cap the 10-day event in Thunder Bay, Ont.
The 6-1 triumph in the championship finale featured Homan’s own perfect night — a stat-line of 100% execution — to wrap up a perfect 11-for-11 run — the second in as many Scotties — for the winning crew of Homan, third Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew and lead Sarah Wilkes at the Curling Canada gala.
“There’s no feeling like this,” a smiling Homan told reporters moments after the win over Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson. “It’s always a big day, these championship days. They’re always tough. They’re always nerve-wracking. We felt the nerves, but we stuck together.
“My team … unbelievable,” she told the packed house at Fort Williams Gardens. “They stuck with it. We had some misses, but we pulled together. Huge sweeps, huge line calls when we needed it …”
And huge doubles early from the skip herself to keep the ship pointed at victory.
“She was definitely feeling it,” Miskew said. “Having a game on that same sheet (Saturday) and knowing what the lines are going to do, as soon as she can see what going to happen there, she’s just on fire. Especially some crazy doubles in ends that looked a little dicey for us. She was amazing.”
And timely too, since it looked like Einarson’s crew from the Gimli Curling Club put on the pressure and looked in the right mind to pull off an upset of the world’s top-ranked team.
After all, if anybody could stop the Homan juggernaut, it would be Einarson and third Val Sweeting, who defeated Homan in both the 2020 and 21 Scotties finales as part of four consecutive national titles for the pair.
The talented tandem, along with second Karlee Burgess and lead Krysten Karwacki — who joined Sweeting as 2025 second-team all-stars — were certainly game early in Sunday’s contest.
“Einarson … they were making everything, and we kinda had to make some big shots there just to get some blanks and a force,” continued Homan to TSN’s Bryan Mudryk. “But thankfully, we were able to make enough in the end.”
It was pivotal steals in the seventh and eighth ends of the fight for five — with both Canada’s Homan and Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson searching out their fifth Scotties title — that changed the complexion of the game, turning it in favour of the defending champs.
“In my head numerous times, I was like, ‘Who’s going to blink first?” added Homan. “Thankfully, it wasn’t us.”
Here’s how it went …
• 1st end — Teams keep it clean, basically sparring; blank, 0-0
• 2nd end — Homan forced to take one; 1-0 Homan
• 3rd end — Homan gets out of trouble with a great double takeout; blank
• 4th end — Facing three, Einarson forced to hit and stick to count one; 1-1
• 5th end — Homan forced to take one; 2-1 Homan
• 6th end — Einarson makes hit and roll; blank
• 7th end — Einarson heavy on draw to full four-foot, steal of one; 3-1 Homan
• 8th end — Facing two, Einarson comes up light on draw to four-foot, steal of two; 5-1 Homan
• 9th end — Trying for the double-takeout, Einarson bumps off both rocks and slides through the house, steal of one; 6-1 Homan.
They shook hands after that.
And the celebration was on for the Ottawa Curling Club crew.
“I definitely want some shots back,” Einarson told reporters post-game. “I got caught in some paths where the speed just wasn’t up to speed. It just got fudgy in the middle (of the ice), and we just didn’t pick up on it or believe it.
“Definitely disappointing,” continued Einarson. “But I’m super proud of my team. We’ve been through a lot over the last year. And honestly, this was our first major event together as a team, and it’s pretty amazing to be able to reach the final and play one of the world’s best.”
Like Homan, the night meant a fifth national championship for long-time rink-mate Miskew. And it was the third and second respectively for Wilkes and Fleury, who joined Homan as 2025 first-team all-stars.
It’s also a third Scotties title for alternate Rachelle Brown and more accolades for coach Jennifer Jones.
How’s this for Homan’s success?
Eleven wins in 11 games to finish unbeaten in T-Bay.
A run of 22 straight triumphs at the finale, dating back to last season’s Scotties. Of course, her rink won that title, too.
And a record now of 56-4 on the 2024-25 season.
Wow.
For the cherry on top, Homan’s 100% execution on the evening is the best ever at the Scotties, edging Colleen Jones, who put up a 99% effort in 2002 Brandon.
And Jones has another Scotties mark that could fall at the hands of Homan, since the Haligonian and fellow legend Jennifer Jones are the only others with more Canadian women’s crowns to their credit, with six.
But it’s savouring this fifth one — and the year that’s led up to the moment — that’s on Homan’s mind right now.
“I think ‘resilience’ just hits it right on the head,” Homan said. “We’ve had come from behind wins, and we’ve stayed tough in so many games that could’ve gone either way.”
Instead, nearly all have gone their way for another Scotties championship and all the trimmings that come with it.
Included is also earning the right to wear the maple leaf at the 2025 LGT World Women’s Curling Championship, March 15-23 in Uijeongbu, South Korea.
“Can’t wait to go represent Canada,” added Homan. “This is an unbelievable feeling.”
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