Muirhead eyes up trophy double at Braehead Curling Rink

Jan 21 2011 by Paul Behan, Paisley Daily Express

CURLING ace Eve Muirhead will be aiming to make it a trophy double when her team takes part in the Glynhill Ladies International event, which begins today at the Braehead rink in Renfrew.

Muirhead is on the crest of a wave after winning the Scottish Junior Championship in Aberdeen last weekend.

As her reward, she gets to represent Scotland at the World Junior Championships in Perth in March, when she’ll be aiming for her fourth title in her final year of junior eligibility.

But, for now, 20-year-old Muirhead will be eyeing up the main prize when some of the best teams from around Europe and even further afield do battle for the Glynhill Hotel-sponsored championship.

And she’ll have plenty of experience in this competition as her team were the beaten finalists last year.

Muirhead’s quartet were leading 3-1 after the third end of a compelling match against a Swiss team skippered by Mirjam Ott.

However, they could not hold on to that lead and the Swiss quartet stormed back to claim a 6-3 triumph.

Muirhead’s rink is not the only Scottish taking part in this year’s event at Braehead.

There are, in fact, four other Scotland sides in the draw.

However, Scotland are expected to face stiff opposition from the likes of perennial title challengers Switzerland, skipped by last year’s winner Ott, and Russia, who are skipped by Luidmila Privivkova.

Japan’s team of Anna Ohmiya, Mayo Yamaura, Shinobu Aota, Kotomi Ishizaki and coach Shinya Abe were the first to arrive at Glasgow Airport earlier this week.

And they’ll be hoping to go one better than last weekend, when they took second spot in the Bernese Ladies Cup in Switzerland.

The action at the Braehead rink gets under way at 8.30am today.