The Swiss women's team finishes the preliminary round at the European Championships in Lohja without a blemish. After a hard-fought victory against Estonia, the team with skip Silvana Tirinzoni will face Italy in the semi-finals.
21.11.2024, 11:11
21.11.2024, 11:47
SDA
At the end of the round robin, the Swiss team faced more of a challenge than expected. The Estonians, who have probably rarely played so strongly, kept the game open until the 10th end and actually had the advantage on their side with the last stone. But in the end it was not enough to surprise them. The decisive stone of the Swiss was a few millimetres closer to the center than that of the Estonians.
The Swiss quartet from CC Aarau extended their run of 20 wins at the European Championships with this must-win against Estonia, who were the only team to beat Lithuania at this tournament. Last year in Aberdeen, Tirinzoni and her colleagues Selina Witschonke, Carole Howald and Alina Pätz won all eleven games on their way to their first continental title.
Even more impressive is the length of the period during which the Swiss curlers remained unbeaten at the World Championships. Tirinzoni and her teams (in different line-ups) had strung together 42 wins in a row. The streak began during the tournament a good three and a half years ago in Calgary and ended last March in Sydney in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
The semi-finals are scheduled for Thursday evening from 18:00. The last two duels between Switzerland and Italy were fiercely contested - and both times the Swiss came out on top. They won 6-5 in last year's European Championship final in Aberdeen and 7-6 in the preliminary round in Lohja.