New look Team Muirhead got off to a perfect start together in Estonia, going unbeaten through the Tallinn Ladies International Challenger as they finalised their competitive preparations for this month’s European Championships. 
Having won five matches in the round-robin stages, Eve Muirhead, Vicky Wright, Jen Dodds, Hailey Duff and Mili Smith then came through an intense final day which ended with victories in contrasting styles as they were forced to come back from two down with two ends to play before beating Sweden’s Team Moberg 7-5 in the semi-final, but then led all the way in defeating Norway’s Team Mesloe 6-4 in the final.
“It was a very tight turn around between games, but I think we’re all used to that and when it’s Sunday and Championship games you never complain about being straight back on because you know that means you’re fighting for podium spots,” a highly satisfied Muirhead said afterwards.
“The semi-final was a tight game and it was good to get a comeback from being down, getting a steal up the last to win it. That always gives you a bit of confidence going into the next game.
“The final was a really good game and we played the scoreboard really well. I felt we controlled the game from start to finish, capitalised on their mistakes and didn’t give them much.”
The new line-up was finalised after British Curling’s innovative trial with an extended nine player squad in the early part of this season as they sought to identify the combination best equipped to maximise the chances of ensuring that Team GB will be represented in the women’s curling event at the Winter Olympics in Beijing next year.
And Muirhead explained how lessons learned during that period had been carried into this event as they took the opportunity to put in more work on team dynamics.
“Overall it was a good weekend,” said Muirhead.
“I actually sat off both games yesterday just to give Vicky a chance to skip in case anything happens to me when we’re at a Championship. 
“We’ve rotated throughout and all five of us have contributed very well to the team in every respect and what works very well with this quintet is that we all respect one another and respect our roles, we’ll all do anything for each other and that makes a very strong unit.
“So we’re bonding well and we’ve obviously got some big goals ahead with the next Championship being the Europeans, but coming off a win at a tour event going into the Europeans always gives you a real lift.”
Clearly, however, they are merely seeing this as the start of a new chapter in terms of their immediate and longer term goals.
“We’re going to have a good week training back at the National Curling Academy ahead of the Europeans and as a team we need to make the most of every single day there,” said Muirhead.
“We need to make sure we’re in the best shape we can be on and off the ice, because we know it’s going to be a very long event, but we’re really looking forward to it after this win.”
Team Muirhead
Eve Muirhead
Vicky Wright
Jen Dodds
Hailey Duff
Mili Smith
