Marissa Castelli

Marissa Castelli (born August 20, 1990) is an American retired pair skater. With her skating partner, Mervin Tran, she is the 2017 U.S. national silver medalist.

Marissa Castelli
Castelli and Shnapir atop the medal podium at the 2013 U.S. Championships
Personal information
Country represented	United States
Born	August 20, 1990 Providence, Rhode Island
Home town	Cranston, Rhode Island
Height	5 ft 0 in (1.52 m)
Partner	Mervin Tran
Former partner	Simon Shnapir, Brad Vigorito
Coach	Bruno Marcotte, Richard Gauthier, Sylvie Fullum, Bobby Martin
Former coach	Carrie Wall, Mark Mitchell
Choreographer	Julie Marcotte
Former choreographer	Sheryl Franks, Carrie Wall, Robert Martin
Skating club	SC of Boston
Training locations	Montreal Boston
Began skating	1994
Retired	January 7, 2019[1]
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	177.15 2017 Internationaux de France
Short program	67.50 2016 CS Autumn Classic
Free skate	118.16 2017 Internationaux de France
Medal record Representing  United States Figure skating: Pairs Olympic Games 2014 Sochi Team Four Continents Championships 2013 Osaka Pairs World Junior Championships 2009 Sofia Pairs

With her former partner, Simon Shnapir, she is the 2013 Four Continents bronze medalist, the 2009 World Junior bronze medalist, and a two-time U.S. national champion (2013 & 2014). The pair won a bronze medal in the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Personal life

Castelli was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and graduated from Cranston High School West. She was enrolled at the Community College of Rhode Island[2] before deciding to study sales and marketing at DeVry University.[3] Her brother, Anthony Castelli, played football at Bryant University[4] and her mother, Lori Castelli, is a figure skating coach.[5]

Early career

Castelli began skating at age three and enrolled in U.S. Figure Skating's Basic Skills program when she was about five.[5] Early in her career, she competed as a single skater and also skated pairs with Brad Vigorito.[4]

Partnership with Shnapir

Castelli and Simon Shnapir teamed up in April 2006 and began training together in earnest in June.[4][6] They trained in Boston, coached by Bobby Martin, Carrie Wall (technical), Mark Mitchell (in-betweens, polishing), and Peter Johansson (throws).[2] Castelli broke Shnapir's nose once while they were practicing the twist.[7]

Castelli/Shnapir qualified for the 2008 Junior Grand Prix Final and placed sixth. The pair won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Junior Championships.

2009–2010 season

In the 2009–2010 season, Castelli was off the ice for a month after she collided with an Italian while she was skating backwards and landed on his blade, resulting in 15 stitches to her inner thigh.[4][5] The pair placed tenth on the senior level at the 2010 U.S. Championships and were sent to the 2010 Four Continents Championships where they also finished tenth.

2012–2013 season

In 2012, Castelli/Shnapir split up for a month but decided to recommit to their partnership.[8] They won gold at the 2012 Ice Challenge and then won bronze, their first Grand Prix medal, at the 2012 NHK Trophy.[9] They won their first national title at the 2013 U.S. Championships.[8] They were assigned to the 2013 Four Continents and won the bronze medal.

2013–2014 season

Castelli/Shnapir won their second national title at the 2014 U.S. Championships and were named in the U.S. team to the 2014 Winter Olympics, held in February in Sochi, Russia. They won a bronze medal in the team event and placed 9th in the pairs event. In March, Castelli/Shnapir finished 11th at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama, Japan. They announced the end of their partnership on May 7, 2014.[10][11]

Partnership with Tran

On June 10, 2014, Castelli announced that she and Canada's Mervin Tran had formed a partnership which would train mainly in Montreal under Bruno Marcotte and to a lesser extent at the Skating Club of Boston under Bobby Martin.[12][13] It was also announced that he was awaiting release from Skate Canada, indicating that they might compete for the United States.[12]

2016–2017 season

Tran sustained a concussion in August 2016.[14] After winning bronze at the 2016 CS Autumn Classic International, the pair appeared at two Grand Prix events, placing 7th at the 2016 Skate America and 5th at the 2016 Trophée de France. Castelli accidentally struck Tran with her elbow during training in late December.[14]

Programs

With Tran

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2017–2018 [15][16]	Fallin' by Alicia Keys choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Woman by Shawn Phillips	Groove Is in the Heart by Deee-Lite
2016–2017 [17]	Fallin' by Alicia Keys choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Journey medley: Don't Stop Believin' Open Arms Any Way You Want It choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Groove Is in the Heart by Deee-Lite
2015–2016 [18][19]	Summertime by George Gershwin choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Journey medley: Don't Stop Believin' Open Arms Any Way You Want It choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Try by Pink
2014–2015 [13][20]	Summertime by George Gershwin choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Adiós Nonino by Astor Piazzolla choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Try by Pink

With Shnapir

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2013–2014 [21]	Black Magic Woman Smooth by Santana choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Skyfall by Thomas Newman choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Royals by Lorde Feeling Good performed by Michael Bublé
2012–2013 [22][23]	Stray Cat Strut by Brian Setzer Orchestra Pink Panther by Henry Mancini choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Payadora by Julian Plaza choreo. by Julie Marcotte	Feeling Good performed by Michael Bublé
2011–2012 [24]	Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber	Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninov	Feeling Good performed by Michael Bublé
2010–2011 [25]	Money by Pink Floyd For the Love of Money by the O'Jays	Avatar by James Horner
2009–2010 [4][26]	Prelude Quadukka-l-Mayyas by Jesse Cook	Freedom Battle by Michael W. Smith Elizabeth: The Golden Age by A.R. Rahman, Craig Armstrong	Billie Jean by Michael Jackson
2008–2009 [27]	Survivor: Guatemala by Russ Landau Wild Dogs The Gathering Ancient Voices of Guatemala	Gladiator by Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard
2007–2008 [4]	Battle Without Honor or Humanity (from Kill Bill Vol. 1) by Tomoyasu Hotei	Gladiator by Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard
2006–2007 [4]	Mon Enfant by George Winston	Salome by Richard Strauss

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

With Tran

International[28]
Event	14–15	15–16	16–17	17–18
Four Continents		6th
GP France		6th	5th	6th
GP Rostelecom Cup				7th
GP Skate America			7th
GP Skate Canada		4th
CS Autumn Classic			3rd	4th
CS Golden Spin		5th
CS U.S. Classic		2nd
Autumn Classic		2nd
National[20]
U.S. Championships	6th	3rd	2nd	6th
TBD: Assigned

Pairs career with Shnapir

International[29]
Event	06–07	07–08	08–09	09–10	10–11	11–12	12–13	13–14
Olympics								9th
Worlds							13th	11th
Four Continents				10th			3rd
GP Bompard				7th
GP NHK Trophy						7th	3rd	4th
GP Skate America					6th		5th	6th
GP Skate Canada					4th
Ice Challenge							1st
Nepela Memorial						4th
U.S. Classic								4th
International: Junior[29]
Junior Worlds			3rd
JGP Final			6th
JGP Czech Rep.			4th
JGP Estonia		10th
JGP U.K.			4th
National[4]
U.S. Champ.	9th N.	3rd N.	3rd J.	10th	5th	5th	1st	1st
East. Sectionals	4th N.	1st N.		1st
Team events
Olympics								3rd
World Team Trophy							1st T (5th P)
Levels: N. = Novice; J. = Junior T = Team result; P = Personal result; Medals awarded for team result only.

Singles career

Event	2006–07	2007–08
Eastern Sectionals	9th N.	11th N.
New England Regionals	4th N.
N. = Novice level

References

1. McCarvel, Nick (January 7, 2019). "'Moving On:' Marissa Castelli Doesn't Want You to Call Her Retired". U.S. Figure Skating. U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.
2. Walker, Elvin (January 3, 2013). "Door wide open for Castelli and Shnapir". Golden Skate.
3. McCarvel, Nick (January 7, 2019). "'Moving On:' Marissa Castelli Doesn't Want You to Call Her Retired". U.S. Figure Skating.
4. "Marissa Castelli / Simon Shnapir". IceNetwork.; Older versions:
   • 2008–13 at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
   • "2007–08". Archived from the original on April 17, 2008. Retrieved 2014-02-10.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
5. Soroff, Jonathan. "Marissa Castelli - Breaking the Ice". The Improper Bostonian. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
6. Mittan, Barry (January 8, 2009). "Castelli and Shnapir Top U.S. Pairs in Junior Grand Prix series". SkateToday. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
7. Schwartz, Jason (January 2014). "Q&A: Simon Shnapir & Marissa Castelli". Boston Magazine.
8. Clarke, Liz (January 26, 2013). "U.S. Figure Skating Championships: Simon Shnapir and Marissa Castelli win pairs; Maryl Davis and Charlie White dominate ice dancing". Washington Post.
9. Pave, Martin (December 6, 2012). "Figure skaters Shnapir and Castelli having a breakout season". Boston Globe.
10. "Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir End Partnership". U.S. Figure Skating. May 7, 2014. Archived from the original on June 26, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
11. Rosewater, Amy (May 8, 2014). "Castelli, Shnapir get off 'emotional roller coaster'". IceNetwork. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
12. Rosewater, Amy (June 10, 2014). "Castelli, Tran teaming up despite logistical hurdles". IceNetwork.com.
13. Rutherford, Lynn (July 26, 2014). "Detroit postcards: More pair action off ice than on". IceNetwork.com.
14. Rutherford, Lynn (January 19, 2017). "Kansas City strips: New pairs shake up status quo". IceNetwork.com.
15. Cloutier, Claire (June 7, 2017). "Marissa Castelli & Mervin Tran: "We're skating for us"". figureskatersonline.com.
16. "Marissa CASTELLI / Mervin TRAN: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018.
17. "Marissa CASTELLI / Mervin TRAN: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.
18. Brannen, Sarah S. (April 21, 2015). "Creating the program: Castelli, Tran choose music". IceNetwork.com.
19. "Marissa CASTELLI / Mervin TRAN: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 27, 2016.
20. "Marissa Castelli / Mervin Tran". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2018.
21. "Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014.
22. "Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013.
23. Rutherford, Lynn (January 15, 2013). "Road to Omaha: Door open for Castelli, Shnapir". IceNetwork.
24. "Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012.
25. "Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011.
26. "Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 20, 2009.
27. "Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 1, 2009.
28. "Competition Results: Marissa CASTELLI / Mervin TRAN". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 1, 2018.
29. "Competition Results: Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014.

External links

Media related to Marissa Castelli at Wikimedia Commons

• Marissa Castelli / Mervin Tran at the International Skating Union
• Marissa Castelli / Mervin Tran at IceNetwork
• Official website of Castelli/Shnapir at the Wayback Machine (archive index)