HAWKS TURRIFF COACHES TEAM MCDONALD TO ONTARIO TITLE & TRIP TO THE BRIER

BREAKING NEWS: Hawks Men's Curling head coach Sean Turriff was at the helm of Team McDonald, and has earned a trip to the 2019 Brier, as the McDonald group won the Ontario title on Sunday afternoon. 

Courtesy of TSN

Team McDonald run the table at Ontario Tankard to qualify for Brier

Scott McDonald capped an undefeated run at the Ontario curling championship on Sunday afternoon with an 8-2 rout of John Epping.

The victory gave McDonald a berth in the March 1-10 Tim Hortons Brier in Brandon, Man.

McDonald won all 11 games at the provincial playdowns in a strong field that also included Glenn Howard and Charley Thomas.

Epping fell three times in a row to McDonald, dropping decisions in the round-robin finale, Page Playoff 1-2 game and the final.

Epping, who beat Howard in the morning semifinal, still has a chance to reach the Brier's wild-card game since he has a strong ranking.

McDonald opened the final with back-to-back deuces and sealed the victory with another pair in the sixth end.

The resident of London, Ont., formed a rink with Kingston, Ont.,-based teammates Jonathan Beuk, Wesley Forget and Scott Chadwick this season.

They won a bonspiel in Gatineau, Que., and finished second at the Grand Slam's Tour Challenge Tier 2 event. Currently 14th on the World Curling Tour's Order of Merit season standings, McDonald also competed at the National and the Canadian Open but did not reach the playoffs.

Rachel Homan will represent Ontario at the Feb. 15-24 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Sydney, N.S., after her victory over Julie Tippin on Saturday.

Elsewhere Sunday, Jim Cotter defeated Jason Montgomery 9-4 to win the British Columbia title while Krista McCarville took the Northern Ontario women's crown with an 8-7 win over Jenna Enge.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, Andrew Symonds beat Rick Rowsell 5-0 to secure the men's crown. Kelli Sharpe previously locked up the women's title with a 5-4 victory over Cathlia Ward.

Brad Gushue, a 14-time provincial champion, did not play in the provincial playdowns as he has already secured a spot in the Brier as defending champion.

Corryn Brown was to meet Sarah Wark for the B.C. women's title later Sunday. The Northern Ontario men's final between Brad Jacobs and Tanner Horgan was also on tap.