Melanie Barbezat

Melanie Barbezat (born August 10, 1991) is a Swiss curler from Bern.[2] She currently plays lead on Team Silvana Tirinzoni. She represented Switzerland at the 2018 European Curling Championships[3] and 2019 World Women's Curling Championship, winning the latter.

Melanie Barbezat
Curler
Born (1991-08-10) August 10, 1991
Biel, Switzerland
Team
Curling clubCC Aarau,
Aarau, SUI[1]
SkipSilvana Tirinzoni
FourthAlina Pätz
SecondEsther Neuenschwander
LeadMelanie Barbezat
Career
Member Association  Switzerland
World Championship
appearances		1 (2019)
European Championship
appearances		2 (2018, 2019)
Grand Slam victories1 (2019 Champions Cup)
Medal record
Women's Curling
Representing   Switzerland
World Curling Championships
2019 Silkeborg
European Championships
2018 Tallinn
2019 Helsingborg
Winter Universiade
2013 Trentino

Career

Barbezat's first experience at a major international event came in 2012, when she won the right to represent Switzerland at the 2012 World Junior Curling Championships in Östersund, Sweden, an event which saw several future Olympic, World and European medallists appear, including Sara McManus, Lauren Gray, Anna Sidorova and Victoria Moiseeva. Barbezat's team finished the Round Robin with a 3–6 record, outside the playoff positions.[4][5]

After her appearance at the World Junior Championships, Barbezat made a move to join Michèle Jäggi on the World Curling Tour playing lead. The team won the 2012 International ZO Women's Tournament, and finished runner-up to Silvana Tirinzoni at the 2013 Stockholm Ladies Cup.[6][7]

Barbezat played second on the Swiss team at the 2013 Winter Universiade, skipped by Jäggi.[8] After completing the Round Robin with a 7–2 record, finishing second in the table, the team were defeated by Kim Ji-sun in the semi-final, before winning the bronze medal with an 8–6 victory over Hannah Fleming.

After the 2013–14 season, Barbezat moved back to the skip position, with her team consisting of Daniela Rupp, future 2018 Olympic mixed doubles silver medallist Jenny Perret, and Carole Howald, an alternate for three consecutive World Championship winning teams. The team won two events on the tour, those coming at the 2014 Dumfries Curling Challenge and the 2016 International ZO Women's Tournament, Barbezat's second career victory there.

Prior to the 2018–19 season a major shake-up in Swiss curling saw Barbezat move back to the lead position to join Esther Neuenschwander, Tirinzoni and Alina Pätz in a team where three of the four members had just come from skipping their own teams. 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 semifinal, 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 fourth 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 were able to turn 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 reaching 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 would not get to defend their title as world champions, 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]

Team 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, the 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]

Teams
Season Skip Third Second Lead
2010–11[16] Melanie BarbezatMara GautschiMichelle GribiVera Campanovo
2011–12 Melanie BarbezatBriar HürlimannMara GautschiJanine Wyss
2012–13 Michèle JäggiMarisa WinkelhausenStéphanie JäggiMelanie Barbezat
2013–14 Michèle JäggiMarisa WinkelhausenStéphanie JäggiMelanie Barbezat
2014–15 Melanie BarbezatCarole HowaldJenny PerretDaniela Rupp
2015–16 Melanie BarbezatCarole HowaldJenny PerretDaniela Rupp
2016–17 Melanie BarbezatJenny PerretCarole HowaldDaniela Rupp
2017–18 Melanie BarbezatJenny PerretCarole HowaldDaniela Rupp
2018–19 Alina Pätz (Fourth)Silvana Tirinzoni (Skip)Esther NeuenschwanderMelanie Barbezat
2019–20 Alina Pätz (Fourth)Silvana Tirinzoni (Skip)Esther NeuenschwanderMelanie Barbezat
2020–21 Alina Pätz (Fourth)Silvana Tirinzoni (Skip)Esther NeuenschwanderMelanie Barbezat

References
  1. "Team Silvana Tirinzoni". Grand Slam of Curling. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  2. 2019 Continental Cup Media Guide: Team Tirinzoni
  3. "Women's Teams". World Curling Federation. 2010-01-08. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  4. "World Junior Curling Championships 2012". Curling Calendar. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  5. "World Juniors: Women 8 vs Switzerland". Skip Cottage Curling. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  6. "2012 International ZO Women's Tournament". CurlingZone. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  7. "Stockholm Ladies Cup Past Champions". Stockholm Ladies Curling Cup. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  8. "Switzerland announces Curling Team for 2013 WU". International University Sports Federation. October 17, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  9. Jonathan Brazeau (September 30, 2019). "Hasselborg makes GSOC history winning 1st Elite 10 women's title". Retrieved August 25, 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 25, 2020.
  12. "GSOC cancels remaining events of 2019–20 season". Grand Slam of Curling. Grand Slam of Curling. March 13, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 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. "Melanie Barbezat Past Teams". CurlingZone. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
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