KAMLOOPS, March 1…Edmonton’s Kevin Martin and Kelowna’s Kelly Scott advanced to the semi-finals of the Strauss Canada Cup with hard-fought victories Saturday afternoon at the Interior Savings Centre.

Martin roared back from a 4-0 deficit against reigning world champion Glenn Howard of Coldwater to tie the Page 2 vs 2 game at six, after taking three in the eighth end.  Then after a blanked ninth end, Howard, faced with a draw to any piece of the button, was slightly heavy with his final shot, giving up a steal to Martin. making the final score, 7-6.

Martin now advances to the semi-final tonight at 7:00 pm against Brad Gushue of St. John’s, with the winner facing Edmonton’s Kevin Koe on Sunday for all the marbles.   Gushue, the B winner, lost to A winner Kevin Koe this morning, 7-5, while Martin dismantled Pat Simmons, 10-2 in taking the men’s second tiebreaker to determine the second place finisher in Section A.

Meanwhile, Scott was involved in a shootout with defending Cup champion Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg.  After counting two in the first and four in the fourth end, the 2007 world champion looked to be home and cooled out, leading 6-2.  The teams then traded deuces before a three-spot in the seventh end and a steal of one in the eighth end propelled Jones, who won the Scotties Tournament of Hearts just last Sunday in Regina, into an 8-8 tie.

Scott rebounded with a deuce in the ninth, though.  Then, in the 10th end, Jones tried a double raise to score a needed deuce with her last rock, but could only manage a single point, losing 10-9.

Scott now faces A winner Cheryl Bernard of Calgary in tonight’s semi-final, with the winner facing Saskatoon’s Stefanie Lawton in Sunday’s final.   Bernard suffered her first defeat of the week in the Page 1 vs 1 game Saturday morning, dropping a 7-6 decision to Lawton.

Sunday’s finals will be televised live on CBC-TV, beginning at 9:00 am PT/12 Noon ET.

The winners of the Strauss Canada Cup not only receive $25,000, but more importantly, also become part of the pool of 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams eligible for the 2009 Tim Hortons Canadian Curling Trials, which will determine Canada’s representatives for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

The winning teams also earn berths into the 2008 Continental Cup in Camrose, Alberta as members of Team North America and return as the defending Canada Cup champions when the event moves to Yorkton, Saskatchewan next year. 

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