Brad Gushue, Kevin Koe head into Masters quarter-finals unbeaten

TRURO, N.S. – Brad Gushue and Kevin Koe will head into quarter-final action at the Masters Grand Slam of Curling as the only two undefeated skips on the men’s side after finishing round-robin play on Friday with victories.

Gushue, of St. John’s, N.L., toppled Scotland’s David Murdoch 7-3 in Draw 12 to run his record to 4-0.

Tied 3-3 through five ends, Gushue took two points in the sixth and another deuce in the seventh to pull away.

Meanwhile, Koe and his Calgary rink edged out Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen 5-4 to keep their record identical with Gushue’s.

Koe trailed 4-3 before scoring one in the seventh end and the go-ahead single in the eighth.

Gushue will face the winner of Saturday’s tiebreaker between Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock (2-2) and Glenn Howard (2-2) of Penetanguishene, Ont., in the quarter-finals while Koe will play Sweden’s Niklas Edin (2-2).

Jim Cotter (3-1), from Vernon, B.C., is against Brad Jacobs (3-1) of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and McEwen (3-1) faces Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers (2-2) in the other quarter-final matchups.

On the women’s side, Ottawa’s Rachel Homan downed South Korea’s EunJung Kim 6-2 in Draw 13 to improve to 4-0, claiming top spot in preliminary play.

Homan had a slim lead before pulling away in fifth end when she picked up four to go ahead 6-1.

Homan and Kim (2-2) could meet again in Saturday’s quarter-finals, but first the South Korean needs to beat Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones (2-2) in the morning’s tiebreaker.

The other women’s quarter-final matchups include, Edmonton’s Val Sweeting (3-1) against Russia’s Anna Sidorova (3-1), Winnipeg’s Kristy McDonald (3-1) versus Halifax’s Mary-Anne Arsenault (3-1) and Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni (3-1) against Winnipeg’s Kerri Einarson (2-2).