Defending champion Heather Nedohin opens with victory at Scotties

The Canadian Press

KINGSTON, Ont. - Team Canada's Heather Nedohin is opening defence of her Scotties Tournament of Hearts title with a victory.

The Edmonton skip beat New Brunswick's Andrea Crawford 9-6 on the opening day of the national women's curling championship at the K-Rock Centre.

Four-time Scotties champ Jennifer Jones of Manitoba posted an 8-6 win over Prince Edward Island's Suzanne Birt.

Ontario's Rachel Homan whipped Stacie Devereaux of Newfoundland and Labrador 8-1 and Saskatchewan's Jill Shumay dumped Kerry Galusha of the Northwest Territories/Yukon 7-2.

Four more games are scheduled for the evening draw.

Round-robin play continues through Friday with the playoffs set for next weekend.