Silvana Tirinzoni

Silvana Tirinzoni
Curler
Born (1979-06-25) 25 June 1979 (age 44)
Dielsdorf, Switzerland
Team
Curling clubCC Aarau,
Aarau, SUI
SkipSilvana Tirinzoni
FourthAlina Pätz
SecondSelina Witschonke
LeadCarole Howald
AlternateStefanie Berset
Mixed doubles
partner		Benoît Schwarz
Curling career
Member Association  Switzerland
World Championship
appearances		7 (2006, 2007, 2013, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023)
European Championship
appearances		7 (2007, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023)
Olympic
appearances		2 (2018, 2022)
Grand Slam victories3 (2015 Tour Challenge, 2019 Champions Cup, 2022 National)
Medal record
Women's curling
Representing   Switzerland
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Silkeborg
Gold medal – first place 2021 Calgary
Gold medal – first place 2022 Prince George
Gold medal – first place 2023 Sandviken
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Aberdeen
Silver medal – second place 2018 Tallinn
Silver medal – second place 2022 Östersund
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Helsingborg
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 1999 Östersund
European Mixed Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Copenhagen

Silvana Petra Tirinzoni (born 25 June 1979) is a Swiss curler from Zurich. She is currently the reigning women's world champion skip having won the last four championships, in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.[1][2] Tirinzoni also represented Switzerland at the 2022 Winter Olympics and 2018 Winter Olympics, after winning the 2017 Swiss Olympic Curling Trials.[3]

Career

In 1997, Tirinzoni was the Swiss alternate for Bianca Röthlisberger at the World Junior Curling Championships. The team finished seventh. The following year, Tirinzoni was the Swiss skip at the World Juniors, and she and her team of Michèle Knobel, Brigitte Schori and Martina von Arx finished sixth. In 1999, the same team returned to the Juniors and won the whole tournament for Switzerland. After finishing the round robin in second place with a 7–2 record, Tirinzoni led Switzerland to a semi-final win over Sweden's Matilda Mattsson and a final win against Japan (skipped by Akiko Katoh) to win the gold medal.

In 2005 Tirinzoni finished fourth at the Swiss Olympic trials.[4] The following year she qualified for the 2006 World Women's Curling Championship, her first. Her Swiss team finished in tenth place with a 3–8 record.

Tirinzoni returned to the 2007 World Women's Curling Championship[5] with nearly the same team as in 2006, adding veteran Mirjam Ott to the lineup. Ott moved into the third position when the team began with three losses, and they nearly came back to qualify for the playoff round. Switzerland fell just short, finishing fifth with a 6–5 record. Later that year, Ott returned the favour by making Tirinzoni her alternate at the 2007 European Curling Championships. Tirinzoni would not see any action, and the team finished fourth.

In 2011, Tirinzoni won her first World Curling Tour event, the Red Deer Curling Classic.[6] She would not play in an international championship until 2013 when she skipped Switzerland at the 2013 World Women's Curling Championship.[7] After finishing the round robin with a 6–5 record, she found herself in a three-way tie for fourth. After beating Russia's Anna Sidorova in the first tiebreaker, she lost to the United States' Erika Brown in the second, settling for fifth place. Since then, Tirinzoni has won several World Curling Tour events, including the 2013 International Bernese Ladies Cup, the 2013 Stockholm Ladies Cup, the 2013 Women's Masters Basel and the 2014 Pomeroy Inn & Suites Prairie Showdown.

Tirinzoni and her rink began the 2014–15 season by winning their first event, the 2014 Stu Sells Oakville Tankard. She then went off to skip the Swiss team (throwing third rocks) at the 2014 European Mixed Curling Championship. She would lead her rink of Martin Rios, Romano Meier and Jenny Perret to a bronze medal.

While Tirinzoni did not return to international competition for a while (due to strong competition in her home country from teams like Alina Pätz and Binia Feltscher), she and her rink have been strong on the World Curling Tour since then. The 2015–16 season included three tournament wins, including the first slam of the year, the 2015 GSOC Tour Challenge, where she beat the World #1 Rachel Homan rink in the final.[8] The team would also win the International Bernese Ladies Cup and the Glynhill Ladies International later that year, while she led her team to four other tournament finals.

Tirinzoni continued her WCT success the following season, winning their first event, the 2016 Stu Sells Oakville Tankard, but did not win any further tournaments. She began the 2017–18 season by defending her Oakville Tankard title, which would be the third time she would win that tournament.

In one of the strongest countries, with three different World Champions, including a two-time World Champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist, Tirinzoni won the right to be the Switzerland representative at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Her team finished undefeated throughout the 2017 Swiss Olympic Curling Trials. At the games, the team just missed out on a playoff spot, finishing with a 4–5 record.

Heading into the 2018–19 curling season, Tirinzoni joined forces with Alina Pätz, who threw fourth rocks with Tirinzoni skipping at the third position, with Esther Neuenschwander at second and Melanie Barbezat throwing lead rocks. The team reached the final in the first Grand Slam of the season, the Elite 10.[9] They represented Switzerland at the 2018 European Curling Championships claiming the silver medal, going on an unbeaten 9–0 run to finish top of the Round Robin, before defeating Germany 6–4 in the semi-final, and falling 5–4 to Sweden's Anna Hasselborg in the final. Having won the 2019 Swiss National Championships, the team represented Switzerland at the 2019 World Women's Curling Championship in Silkeborg, Denmark. The team got off to a shaky start posting a 2–3 record in their first five games before winning six in a row to secure their playoff spot, and, after a final round dead rubber loss, a round robin record of 8–4 and 4th place in the standings. Tight victories over China in the qualification game and South Korea in the semifinal set up a repeat of the European Championship final against Hasselborg and Sweden. They turned the tables on Sweden, with Pätz making a draw to the four-foot in the extra end for an 8–7 win, which meant they were crowned the 2019 world champions. The team capped off their year with their first Grand Slam title together at the Champions Cup and reached the final of the inaugural Curling World Cup.

At the start of the 2019–20 season, Team Tirinzoni were runners-up at the 2019 Cameron's Brewing Oakville Fall Classic.[10] They also qualified for the playoffs at their next three events, the 2019 Stu Sells Oakville Tankard, the 2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic and the 2019 WCT Uiseong International Curling Cup. The next week, they won the Women's Masters Basel. They represented Switzerland at the 2019 European Curling Championships, where they finished the round robin in first place with an 8–1 record. However, they would not make the final, as they lost to Scotland's Eve Muirhead in the semifinal. They rebounded in the bronze medal game, defeating Alina Kovaleva of Russia. The team was not able to defend their Swiss championship, losing the final of the 2020 Swiss Women's Curling Championship to the young Elena Stern rink.[11] The Swiss championship would be the team's last event of the season, as both the Players' Championship and the Champions Cup Grand Slam events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

Tirinzoni began the 2020–21 season by making the final of the 2020 Schweizer Cup, where they once again lost to the Stern rink.[13] Three weeks later, her team was invited to play in the Adelboden International men's World Curling Tour event, as a last-minute addition.[14] After dropping their first game to Yannick Schwaller, they went on a four-game winning streak against the men's field before losing to Olympic bronze medallist Peter de Cruz in the semifinal.[15] In January 2021, Tirinzoni competed at the 2021 Swiss Mixed Doubles Curling Championship with partner Benoît Schwarz. The pair finished the round robin with a 4–3 record before losing to teammate Alina Pätz and Sven Michel in the semifinal.[16] Two weeks later, Tirinzoni won her fifth national championship at the 2021 Swiss Women's Curling Championship. This put her in a playoff against 2020 Champions Team Stern for the right to represent Switzerland at the 2021 World Women's Curling Championship, as the 2020 Worlds were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17] Tirinzoni beat Stern in the playoff, and represented Switzerland at the World Championship, which was played in a bio-secure bubble in Calgary, Canada due to the pandemic. There, she led her rink to a 12–1 round robin record, including scoring a rare eight-ender against Denmark,[18] the first time an eight-ender has ever been scored at a World Championship. In the playoffs, Tirinzoni defeated the United States in the semifinal, and then Alina Kovaleva representing RCF (Russia) in the final to win the gold medal,[19] successfully defending her 2019 championship, becoming the first Swiss skip to win back to back titles.[20] While also in the Calgary bubble, Team Tirinzoni played in two Grand Slam events, making the final at the 2021 Champions Cup and the semifinals at the 2021 Players' Championship.[21]

Team Tirinzoni had a slow start to the 2021–22 season, not reaching any finals in their first five tour events. At the first two Slams, the 2021 Masters and the 2021 National, they went undefeated until losses in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. At the 2021 European Curling Championships, the team failed to reach the playoffs for the first time, finishing in fifth with a 6–3 record. The next event the team played in was the 2022 Winter Olympics, where they found their footing for the first time during the season. They finished in first place after the preliminary round with an 8–1 round robin record.[22] This earned them the top seed in the playoff round. They then, however, lost the semifinal to Japan's Satsuki Fujisawa and the bronze medal game to Sweden's Anna Hasselborg, placing fourth. Immediately after the Olympics, the team entered the Swiss Women's Curling Championship where they were once again able to defend their title, earning the right to represent Switzerland at the 2022 World Women's Curling Championship.[23] At the championship, Team Tirinzoni dominated the competition, finishing the round robin with an unblemished 12–0 record.[24] They then beat Sweden's Hasselborg in the semifinal to qualify once again for the world championship final where they would face South Korea's Kim Eun-jung. Switzerland took a three point lead early, but Korea was able to tie the match later on. In the end, Alina Pätz executed an open hit to win the match 7–6 and repeat for a third time as world women's curling champions.[25] On April 25, the team announced that they would be splitting up at the end of the season, with front end Esther Neuenschwander and Melanie Barbezat stepping away from competitive curling.[26] Team Tirinzoni ended their four year run together with the final two Slam events of the season, the 2022 Players' Championship and the 2022 Champions Cup, where they had quarterfinal and semifinal finishes respectively. On May 12, Tirinzoni and Pätz announced that they would be staying together and adding Carole Howald and Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann to their team for the 2022–23 season.[27]

The new Tirinzoni rink found immediate success on tour, going undefeated in their first event to win the Summer Series.[28] The following week, they lost to Team Clancy Grandy in the final of the 2022 Martensville International.[29] The team next competed in the 2022 Women's Masters Basel where they lost in the semifinal to Raphaela Keiser.[30] They bounced back immediately the following week at the 2022 Stu Sells Toronto Tankard, again going undefeated to claim their second event title of the season.[31] Team Tirinzoni continued their strong play into the first Slam event of the season, the 2022 National. After an undefeated round robin record, the team beat Jennifer Jones 7–3 in the quarterfinals, Kaitlyn Lawes 7–5 in the semifinals, and Kerri Einarson 7–3 in the championship game to win their third tour event and Tirinzoni's third Grand Slam title.[32] The team was back on the ice the following week at the 2022 Western Showdown where after dropping their first game, they won seven straight to claim another title.[33] Team Tirinzoni's event streak came to an end at the 2022 Tour Challenge where after a 4–0 round robin record, they lost 9–2 in the quarterfinals to Isabella Wranå.[34] Next for the team was the 2022 European Curling Championships where they finished third in the round robin with a 6–3 record. They then beat Italy's Stefania Constantini in the semifinal before dropping the championship game 8–4 to Denmark's Madeleine Dupont.[35] After much success in the first half of the season, the team missed the playoffs at their next two events, the 2022 Masters and the 2023 Canadian Open. They rebounded, however, at the 2023 International Bernese Ladies Cup, going a perfect 8–0 to win the event.[36] At the 2023 Swiss Women's Curling Championship, the team defended their title for a third year in a row, winning 6–4 over Corrie Hürlimann in the championship game.[37] This qualified Team Tirinzoni for the 2023 World Women's Curling Championship where they continued their winning streak at the World Championship, again going 12–0 through the round robin.[38] They then topped Sweden's Anna Hasselborg 8–4 to qualify for the final against Norway's Marianne Rørvik. Despite not having their best game, the Swiss team stole two in the tenth end to win the game 6–3 and secure their fourth consecutive World Championship title.[39] With the win, the team also took the record for the most consecutive victories at the Women's World Championship, now at 36 games.[40] Team Tirinzoni ended their season at the final two Slams of the season, the 2023 Players' Championship and the 2023 Champions Cup. At the Players', the team lost two straight before going on a six-game winning streak to qualify for the final.[41] There, they lost 6–5 to Isabella Wranå.[42] Prior to the Champions Cup, the team's last event of the season, they announced they had removed Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann from the team for "team harmony" reasons. The team made the decision while Schwaller-Hürlimann was playing in the 2023 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, but did not tell her until she travelled to Canada to play in the Champions Cup.[43] Schwaller-Hürlimann was replaced by Rachel Erickson at the tournament, where they missed the playoffs with a 1–4 record. Days later, it was announced that Selina Witschonke was replacing Schwaller-Hürlimann on the team at second with Howald shifting to lead.[44]

Personal life

Tirinzoni studied business administration at the University of Zurich and completed further training as a financial analyst and investment advisor. She worked for seven years as a project manager at a bank, and in 2019 she focused entirely on sports.[45]

Grand Slam record

Key
C Champion
F Lost in Final
SF Lost in Semifinal
QF Lost in Quarterfinals
R16 Lost in the round of 16
Q Did not advance to playoffs
T2 Played in Tier 2 event
DNP Did not participate in event
N/A Not a Grand Slam event that season
Event 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Tour Challenge N/A N/A N/A N/A C Q QF QF QF N/A N/A QF QF
The National N/A N/A N/A N/A Q F DNP SF Q N/A SF C SF
Masters N/A SF DNP QF QF SF QF Q SF N/A QF Q F
Canadian Open N/A N/A N/A Q Q F QF F QF N/A N/A Q F
Players' Q Q SF Q SF SF SF Q N/A SF QF F
Champions Cup N/A N/A N/A N/A SF QF QF C N/A F SF Q N/A

Former events

Event 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19
Elite 10 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A F
Colonial Square N/A Q DNP SF N/A N/A N/A N/A
Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries DNP DNP SF N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Teams

Season Skip Third Second Lead
1997–98[46] Silvana Tirinzoni Michèle Knobel Brigitte Schori Martina von Arx
1998–99 Silvana Tirinzoni Michèle Knobel Brigitte Schori Martina von Arx
2005–06 Silvana Tirinzoni Sandra Attinger Anna Neuenschwander Esther Neuenschwander
2006–07 Silvana Tirinzoni Esther Neuenschwander Anna Neuenschwander Sandra Attinger
2009–10 Silvana Tirinzoni Irene Schori Christine Urech Sandra Gantenbein
2010–11 Silvana Tirinzoni Irene Schori Esther Neuenschwander Sandra Gantenbein
2011–12 Silvana Tirinzoni Irene Schori Esther Neuenschwander Sandra Gantenbein
2012–13 Silvana Tirinzoni Marlene Albrecht Esther Neuenschwander Sandra Gantenbein
2013–14 Silvana Tirinzoni Manuela Siegrist Esther Neuenschwander Marlene Albrecht
2014–15 Silvana Tirinzoni Manuela Siegrist Esther Neuenschwander Marlene Albrecht
2015–16 Silvana Tirinzoni Manuela Siegrist Esther Neuenschwander Marlene Albrecht
2016–17 Silvana Tirinzoni Manuela Siegrist
Cathy Overton-Clapham		 Esther Neuenschwander Marlene Albrecht
2017–18 Silvana Tirinzoni Manuela Siegrist[a] Esther Neuenschwander[a] Marlene Albrecht
2018–19 Alina Pätz (Fourth) Silvana Tirinzoni (Skip) Esther Neuenschwander Melanie Barbezat
2019–20 Alina Pätz (Fourth) Silvana Tirinzoni (Skip) Esther Neuenschwander Melanie Barbezat
2020–21 Alina Pätz (Fourth) Silvana Tirinzoni (Skip) Esther Neuenschwander Melanie Barbezat
2021–22 Alina Pätz (Fourth) Silvana Tirinzoni (Skip) Esther Neuenschwander Melanie Barbezat
2022–23 Alina Pätz (Fourth) Silvana Tirinzoni (Skip) Carole Howald Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann
2023–24 Alina Pätz (Fourth) Silvana Tirinzoni (Skip) Selina Witschonke Carole Howald

Notes

  1. ^ a b Siegrist and Neuenschwander switched positions partway through the season.

References

  1. ^ "Eight Ends: Swiss reign resumes at world women's curling championship".
  2. ^ The Canadian Press (March 24, 2019). "Switzerland edges Sweden to win world women's curling title". CBC Sports. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-10-01. Retrieved August 23, 2020.{cite web}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Final um Olympia-Platz".
  5. ^ U.S. women win one, lose one at curling worlds
  6. ^ "2011 Red Deer Curling Classic". CurlingZone. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  7. ^ "Canada's opponents in 2013 women's world curling championships in Riga, Latvia". Ottawa Citizen. March 14, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  8. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (September 13, 2015). "Tirinzoni stuns Homan to win Tour Challenge". Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  9. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (September 30, 2019). "Hasselborg makes GSOC history winning 1st Elite 10 women's title". Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  10. ^ "2019 Cameron's Brewing Oakville Fall Classic". CurlingZone. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  11. ^ "2020 Swiss Women's Curling Championship". Swiss Curling Association. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  12. ^ "GSOC cancels remaining events of 2019–20 season". Grand Slam of Curling. Grand Slam of Curling. March 13, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  13. ^ "2020 Schweizer Cup Results". Swiss Curling Association. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  14. ^ "Tirinzoni takes on the men in Adelboden". CurlingZone. CurlingZone. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  15. ^ "2020 Adelboden International". CurlingZone. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  16. ^ "Results". Swiss Curling Association. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  17. ^ "Eight Ends: Swiss reign resumes at world women's curling championship". Grand Slam of Curling. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  18. ^ "2021 World Women's Curling Championship – Switzerland vs Denmark – Shot by Shot" (PDF). World Curling Federation. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  19. ^ "Switzerland retain world title at the LGT World Women's Curling Championship 2021". World Curling Federation. 9 May 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  20. ^ "Switzerland's curling reign continues as Tirinzoni captures second straight world women's title". TSN. 9 May 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  21. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (April 19, 2021). "Rachel Homan wins record-extending 11th GSOC title at Champions Cup". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  22. ^ "Switzerland women secure play-off spot in Beijing". World Curling Federation. February 16, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  23. ^ "SM Elite Frauen / CS femmes élite 2021/22 - Classement général". www.curling-results.ch. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  24. ^ "Play-off match-ups set at the World Women's". World Curling Federation. March 26, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  25. ^ "Switzerland defend their World Women's title in Prince George". World Curling Federation. March 28, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  26. ^ "Einige von euch wissen es bereits, andere haben ein Gerücht gehört oder sind jetzt doch total überrascht von der Ankündigung…". Instagram (in German). teamtirinzoni. April 25, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  27. ^ "Das TEAM ist komplett! See you on tour". Instagram (in German). teamtirinzoni. May 12, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  28. ^ "Tirinzoni wins Summer Series". CurlingZone. August 30, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  29. ^ "2022 Martensville International". CurlingZone. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  30. ^ "2022 Women's Masters Basel". CurlingZone. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  31. ^ "Wins from Tirinzoni and Edin highlight busy weekend in curling". TSN. October 3, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  32. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (October 9, 2022). "Tirinzoni tops Einarson to claim Boost National women's championship". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  33. ^ Colin Powers (October 17, 2022). "Team Tirinzoni captures women's Western Showdown". Swift Current Online. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  34. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (October 22, 2022). "Wrana upsets top-seed Tirinzoni in HearingLife Tour Challenge quarterfinals". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  35. ^ "Denmark win Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships 2022 women's title". World Curling Federation. November 26, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  36. ^ "54. Internationaler Berner Damen Cup 2023". Curling Bern. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  37. ^ "2023 Swiss Curling Championships". CurlingZone. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  38. ^ "Play-off field complete at LGT World Women's Championship". World Curling Federation. March 24, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  39. ^ "Switzerland win LGT World Women's Curling Championship 2023". World Curling Federation. March 26, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  40. ^ "Swiss extend best streak in curling history; Norway continues epic winter sports season". NBC Sports. March 27, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  41. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (April 15, 2023). "Koe claims spot in Princess Auto Players' Championship final with clutch shot". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  42. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (April 16, 2023). "Wrana wins Players' Championship for first Grand Slam women's title". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  43. ^ Matthias Dubach (May 4, 2023). "Eklat im Team der Curling-Weltmeisterinnen" (in German). Blick. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  44. ^ "Curling: Selina Witschonke rejoint les championnes du monde" (in French). RTS. May 5, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  45. ^ Marco Oppliger: Sie war Bankerin, nun lebt sie mit 41 in einer WG. In: Tages-Anzeiger, 30. April 2021 (E-Paper; Tagesanzeiger.ch).
  46. ^ "Silvana Tirinzoni Past Teams". CurlingZone. Retrieved August 23, 2020.

External links