Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann

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Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann
Curler
Born (1993-09-30) 30 September 1993 (age 30)
Zug, Switzerland[1]
Team
Curling clubCC Oberwallis, Brig-Glis
Mixed doubles
partner		Yannick Schwaller
Curling career
Member Association Switzerland
World Championship
appearances		2 (2017, 2023)
World Mixed Doubles Championship
appearances		2 (2023, 2024)
European Championship
appearances		1 (2022)
Grand Slam victories1 (2022 National)
Medal record
Women's Curling
Representing  Switzerland
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Sandviken
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2022 Östersund
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Tallinn

Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann (born 30 September 1993 as Briar Hürlimann) is a Swiss curler from Recherswil.[1] She won a World Women's Championship for Switzerland playing lead for Team Silvana Tirinzoni in 2023.

Career[edit]

Schwaller-Hürlimann first represented Switzerland on the international stage at the 2011 World Junior Curling Championships as third for Manuela Siegrist. They lost the tiebreaker to Sweden's Jonna McManus. She returned the following year at the 2012 World Junior Curling Championships, playing third for Melanie Barbezat. They were less successful than the previous year, finishing with a 3–6 record. After not representing Switzerland in 2013, Schwaller-Hürlimann made back to back appearances at the World Juniors. In 2014, they lost the tiebreaker 7–6 to Sweden's Isabella Wranå. In 2015, they won the bronze medal after defeating Wranå's Swedish team. Also in 2015, she finished fifth at the 2015 World Mixed Curling Championship, playing third for Yannick Schwaller.

During the 2015–16 season, Schwaller-Hürlimann spared for Team Alina Pätz at the 2016 Players' Championship, in place of Marisa Winkelhausen. It was her first Grand Slam of Curling event. The team finished with a 1–4 record, only defeating Anna Sidorova's Russian rink.[2]

In 2017, Schwaller-Hürlimann represented Switzerland at the 2017 Winter Universiade. This time, they could not defeat Wranå in the bronze medal game, settling for fourth. She also played in her first World Women's Curling Championships this season, as the alternate for 2015 World Champion Alina Pätz. She did not play in any games and the Swiss team settled for 8th after a 5–6 round robin record.

The 2018–19 season was a breakout year for Schwaller-Hürlimann and her team of skip Elena Stern, second Lisa Gisler and lead Céline Koller. They played in four Grand Slam events including winning the 2018 Tour Challenge Tier 2 and the 2018 Women's Masters Basel World Curling Tour event.[3][4]

Team Stern followed their great season with an even better one for the 2019–20 season. They had a quarterfinal finish at the 2019 Cameron's Brewing Oakville Fall Classic. They missed the playoffs at their next three events, the 2019 Stu Sells Oakville Tankard, the 2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic and the inaugural WCT Uiseong International Curling Cup. Next, Team Stern played in the 2019 Canad Inns Women's Classic and qualified for the playoffs threw the C side. They successfully defeated Eve Muirhead in the quarterfinals, Silvana Tirinzoni in the semifinals and Rachel Homan in the final to win the event. They also won the International Bernese Ladies Cup and the Schweizer Cup. For the first time ever, they qualified for the playoffs at a Grand Slam event where they lost to Tracy Fleury in the quarterfinals at the Masters. They also qualified for the playoffs as the number one seed at the National but they also lost in the quarterfinals, this time to Satsuki Fujisawa. Team Stern surprised many when they upset the defending world champion rink Silvana Tirinzoni in the 2020 Swiss Women's Curling Championship three times and defeated them in the final 6–4. The team was set to represent Switzerland at the 2020 World Women's Curling Championship before the event got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6] The Swiss championship would be their last event of the season as both the Players' Championship and the Champions Cup Grand Slam events were also cancelled due to the pandemic.[7]

The Stern team began the abbreviated 2020–21 season by winning the 2020 Schweizer Cup, defeating Team Tirinzoni in the final.[8][9] The team next played in the 2020 Women's Masters Basel, losing in the semifinals to Raphaela Keiser.[10] Two weeks later, they competed in the 2.0 Cup, a men's tour event as the sole women's team. They lost in the C Qualifier game to Sweden's Fredrik Nyman.[11] In January 2021, Schwaller-Hürlimann compted at the 2021 Swiss Mixed Doubles Curling Championship with partner Yannick Schwaller. The pair finished atop of the round robin standings with a 6–1 record, sending them directly to the best-of-three final where they played Alina Pätz and Sven Michel. They defeated Pätz / Michel two games to zero to claim the Swiss Mixed Doubles title.[12] The pair then played against the 2020 Swiss champion rink of Jenny Perret and Martin Rios to decide who would represent Switzerland at the 2021 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. They lost the best-of-five series three games to zero.[13] At the 2021 Swiss Women's Curling Championship, Team Stern could not defend their title, losing all five of their matches against the Tirinzoni rink.[14] As they had won the Swiss Championship in 2020 but could not participate in the World Championship due to the cancellation, they played Team Tirinzoni in a best-of-five series to determine which team would represent Switzerland at the 2021 World Women's Curling Championship. Tirinzoni defeated Stern three games to zero in the series, earning themselves the spot at the World Championship.[15] The team ended their season at the 2021 Champions Cup and 2021 Players' Championship Grand Slam events, which were played in a "curling bubble" in Calgary, Alberta, with no spectators, to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.[16] The team finished winless in the Champions Cup and made the quarterfinals at the Players'.[17] At the end of the season, Schwaller-Hürlimann and Schwaller won the 2021 WCT Arctic Cup in Dudinka, Russia.[18]

After Team Tirinzoni qualified to represent Switzerland at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Elena Stern and Lisa Gisler both retired from competitive curling with Schwaller-Hürlimann and Céline Koller disbanding as well.[19] She then joined her sister Corrie Hürlimann's team for the 2021–22 season. The team did not have much success on tour, only reaching one final at the Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic where they lost to Suzanne Birt.[20] At the 2022 Swiss Women's Curling Championship, they finished fourth after a semifinal loss to the Tirinzoni rink. Schwaller-Hürlimann only remained with her sister for one season as on May 12, it was announced that she would be joining the new Tirinzoni rink at lead for the 2022–23 season.[21] The team also included fourth Alina Pätz and second Carole Howald.

The new Tirinzoni rink found immediate success on tour, going undefeated in their first event to win the Summer Series.[22] The following week, they lost to Team Clancy Grandy in the final of the 2022 Martensville International.[23] The team next competed in the 2022 Women's Masters Basel where they lost in the semifinal to Raphaela Keiser.[24] 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.[25] 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 Schwaller-Hürlimann's first Grand Slam title.[26] 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.[27] 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.[28] 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.[29] 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.[30] In March 2023, Schwaller-Hürlimann and her husband Yannick Schwaller won the 2023 Swiss Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.[31] At the 2023 Swiss Women's Curling Championship, the team won 6–4 over Corrie Hürlimann in the championship game.[32] This qualified Team Tirinzoni for the 2023 World Women's Curling Championship where they continued their winning streak, going 12–0 through the round robin.[33] 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 the World Championship title.[34] 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.[35] There, they lost 6–5 to Isabella Wranå.[36] Next for Schwaller-Hürlimann was the 2023 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. With husband Yannick, the pair finished the round robin with a 7–2 record, however, due to tiebreking logistics, they finished fourth in their pool and did not advance to the playoffs.[37] During the World Mixed Doubles Championship, Team Tirinzoni decided to remove Schwaller-Hürlimann from the team for "team harmony" reasons. The team made the decision while Schwaller-Hürlimann was playing in the championship, but did not tell her until she travelled to Canada to play in the Champions Cup.[38] Schwaller-Hürlimann was replaced by Rachel Erickson at the tournament.

Schwaller-Hürlimann rejoined her sister Corrie's team for the 2023–24 season as the alternate.[39] She played in two events for the team, finishing fourth at the 2023 Oslo Cup and reaching the semifinals of the 2024 International Bernese Ladies Cup. At the 2024 Swiss Women's Championship, the team won just one game and failed to make the playoff round.[40] In mixed doubles, Briar and Yannick won their second consecutive Swiss Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, defeating Schwaller-Hürlimann's former teammate Carole Howald and Pablo Lachat in the final.[41]

Personal life[edit]

Schwaller-Hürlimann's parents Janet Hürlimann and Patrick Hürlimann were also both curlers. Her father won a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics. She is currently employed as a teacher.[1] In July 2022 she married fellow curler Yannick Schwaller and changed her surname to Schwaller-Hürlimann.[42]

Grand Slam record[edit]

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 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
Tour Challenge DNP DNP DNP T2 Q N/A N/A QF
The National DNP DNP DNP DNP QF N/A DNP C
Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP QF N/A DNP Q
Canadian Open DNP DNP DNP Q Q N/A N/A Q
Players' Q[a] DNP DNP Q N/A QF DNP F
Champions Cup DNP DNP DNP Q N/A Q DNP DNP

Teams[edit]

Season Skip Third Second Lead Alternate
2010–11[43] Manuela Siegrist Briar Hürlimann Claudia Hug Janine Wyss
2011–12 Melanie Barbezat Briar Hürlimann Mara Gautschi Janine Wyss
2013–14 Briar Hürlimann (Fourth) Corina Mani (Skip) Rahel Thoma Tamara Michel
2014–15 Briar Hürlimann (Fourth) Lisa Gisler (Skip) Rahel Thoma Corina Mani
2015–16 Ursi Hegner Briar Hürlimann Nina Ledergerber Claudia Baumann
2016–17 Briar Hürlimann (Fourth) Elena Stern (Skip) Anna Stern Céline Koller
2017–18 Briar Hürlimann (Fourth) Elena Stern (Skip) Lisa Gisler Céline Koller Anna Stern
2018–19 Briar Hürlimann (Fourth) Elena Stern (Skip) Lisa Gisler Céline Koller
2019–20 Briar Hürlimann (Fourth) Elena Stern (Skip) Lisa Gisler Céline Koller
2020–21 Briar Hürlimann (Fourth) Elena Stern (Skip) Lisa Gisler Céline Koller
2021–22 Briar Hürlimann (Fourth) Corrie Hürlimann (Skip) Melina Bezzola Anna Gut Jessica Jäggi
2022–23 Alina Pätz (Fourth) Silvana Tirinzoni (Skip) Carole Howald Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann
2023–24 Corrie Hürlimann Celine Schwizgebel Sarah Müller Marina Lörtscher Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Spared for Marisa Winkelhausen on Team Alina Pätz.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "2020 World Women's Curling Championship Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  2. ^ "Paetz 1–4 at 2016 Players' Championship". CurlingZone. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  3. ^ "Stern wins 2018 GSOC Tour Challenge Tier 2". CurlingZone. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  4. ^ "Elena Stern wins Womens Masters Basel". CurlingZone. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  5. ^ The Canadian Press (March 12, 2020). "World Women's Curling Championship Cancelled". The Sports Network. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  6. ^ "World Women's Curling Championship 2020 cancelled in Prince George, Canada". World Curling Federation. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  7. ^ "GSOC cancels remaining events of 2019–20 season". Grand Slam of Curling. Grand Slam of Curling. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  8. ^ "Elena Stern repeats as Schweizer Cup champions". CurlingZone. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  9. ^ Video (full game): 2020 Schweizer Cup - Final - Silvana Tirinzoni (Aarau) vs Elena Stern (Oberwallis) on YouTube
  10. ^ "2020 Women's Masters Basel Scoreboards". Rinkmaster. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  11. ^ "Stern 2–3 at 2.0 Cup". CurlingZone. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  12. ^ Céline Stucki (January 31, 2021). "Curling: Hürlimann und Schwaller sind Schweizermeister 2021!". Nau.ch. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  13. ^ "WM-Trials Mixed Doubles: Best of 5". Swiss Curling Association. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  14. ^ "2021 Swiss Women's Curling Championship Results". Swiss Curling Association. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  15. ^ "2021 Swiss Women's Curling Trials". Swiss Curling Association. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  16. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (April 12, 2021). "Humpty's Champions Cup start moved to Thursday". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  17. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (April 24, 2021). "Gushue eliminates Edin to reach Players' Championship semis". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  18. ^ "Кубок Арктики отправляется в Швейцарию (Arctic Cup goes to Switzerland)" (in Russian). Arctic Cup. May 30, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  19. ^ "After 20 years of curling ... I decided to step back from competitive curling". Instagram. elenaxstern. June 9, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  20. ^ George Myrer (November 14, 2021). "Stuart Thompson, Suzanne Birt win Stu Sells curling titles". Saltwire. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  21. ^ "Das TEAM ist komplett! See you on tour". Instagram (in German). teamtirinzoni. May 12, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  22. ^ "Tirinzoni wins Summer Series". CurlingZone. August 30, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  23. ^ "2022 Martensville International". CurlingZone. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  24. ^ "2022 Women's Masters Basel". CurlingZone. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  25. ^ "Wins from Tirinzoni and Edin highlight busy weekend in curling". TSN. October 3, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  26. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (October 9, 2022). "Tirinzoni tops Einarson to claim Boost National women's championship". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  27. ^ Colin Powers (October 17, 2022). "Team Tirinzoni captures women's Western Showdown". Swift Current Online. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  28. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (October 22, 2022). "Wrana upsets top-seed Tirinzoni in HearingLife Tour Challenge quarterfinals". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  29. ^ "Denmark win Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships 2022 women's title". World Curling Federation. November 26, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  30. ^ "54. Internationaler Berner Damen Cup 2023". Curling Bern. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  31. ^ "2023 Swiss Mixed Doubles Curling Championship". CurlingZone. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  32. ^ "2023 Swiss Curling Championships". CurlingZone. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  33. ^ "Play-off field complete at LGT World Women's Championship". World Curling Federation. March 24, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  34. ^ "Switzerland win LGT World Women's Curling Championship 2023". World Curling Federation. March 26, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  35. ^ 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.
  36. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (April 16, 2023). "Wrana wins Players' Championship for first Grand Slam women's title". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  37. ^ "World Mixed Doubles round robin concludes". World Curling Federation. April 27, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  38. ^ Matthias Dubach (May 4, 2023). "Eklat im Team der Curling-Weltmeisterinnen" (in German). Blick. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  39. ^ "Meet Briar, our fifth player🙋🏼‍♀️". Facebook. Curling Team Hürlimann. September 23, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  40. ^ "2024 Swiss Women's Curling Championship". CurlingZone. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  41. ^ "SM/CS Mixed Doubles Elite". Swiss Curling (in French). Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  42. ^ "Briar Hürlimann and Yannick Schwaller's Wedding Website". Archived from the original on 2022-11-14.
  43. ^ "Briar Hürlimann Past Teams". CurlingZone. Retrieved October 5, 2019.

External links[edit]

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