Shorthanded Tirinzoni rink start off 2022-23 season with win
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Silvana Tirinzoni and the reigning women’s world curling champions from Switzerland started off their 2022-23 season with another impressive win.
Team Tirinzoni, playing with just three players, went 6-0 at the Summer Series bonspiel in St. Felicien, Que., capping it off with a 6-4 win over Vancouver’s Team Clancy Grandy in the championship game on Monday. Sharpshooting fourth Alina Paetz was not with the team for this event.
Tirinzoni and Paetz, alongside the front-end duo of Esther Neuenschwander and Melanie Barbezat, have led the Swiss to three straight first-place finishes at the World Women’s Curling Championship. Neuenschwander and Barbezat stepped away from the game this summer and were replaced by Briar Hürlimann and Carole Howald.
Six-time Canadian champion Jennifer Jones made her debut with her new team this weekend and had some promising early results. Jones, now skipping the rink that was previously helmed by former world junior champ Mackenzie Zacharias, made the semi-finals after posting a 3-1 record in the round robin. Team Jones fell to Grandy’s crew, 10-3, in the semi-final, marking the second time they lost to the BC foursome in the tournament.
Ontario's Team Hollie Duncan lost to Tirinzoni in the other semi-final while Quebec’s Team Laurie St-Georges went 1-3.
The Summer Series had a $30,000 purse.
In Leduc on the Alberta Curling Series, Calgary’s Team Aaron Sluchinski defeated Edmonton’s Karsten Sturmay, 8-6, after putting up a four-spot in the eighth and final end.
Toronto’s John Epping and his new team featuring third Mathew Camm, second Patrick Janssen and lead Scott Chadwick travelled out west to kick off their campaign, but missed the playoff round with a 2-2 record.
South Korea's Eunji Gim won the women`s event with a 7-4 victory over Edmonton’s Selena Sturmay.
Both the men’s and women’s event had a $10,000 purse.
At the Euro Super Series in Stirling, Scotland, Italy’s Team Joel Retornaz ran the table with a 6-0 record, including a 9-3 championship game victory over Team Korey Dropkin of the United States.
The event had a purse of $20,000.