Stacey Liapis (born August 19, 1974) is an American curler from

Bemidji, Minnesota Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 census. According to 2021 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 15,279, making i ...

. She played much of her career on teams with her sister

Kari Erickson Kari Erickson (born December 18, 1971, as Kari Liapis) is an American curling, curler and Olympian. Career Erickson started curling in 1988 and had a successful junior career, winning the Minnesota State Junior Championship five years in a row, ...

. She is a two-time Olympian, in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

and 2002, and a two-time United States National Champion, in 1998 and 2001.

Curling career

Liapis had a very successful juniors career, winning the United States Junior Championship four times and competing at the World Junior Championship five times. She started her competitive career playing third for her sister Kari, making it to the semifinals or better at the United States Junior Championships three years in a row, 1989 to 1991. In 1990 the Liapis sisters won the championship, along with Heidi Rollheiser and Roberta Breyen. At World's in

Portage la Prairie, Manitoba Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hi ...

they finished in sixth place with a 4–5 record. Starting in the 1991–92 season Erika Brown took over as

skip Skip or Skips may refer to: Acronyms * SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene * Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol * SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aidi ...

for the team. Together Liapis and Brown won the next three United States Junior Championships in a row and medalled at each of the World Championships. At the 1992 and

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

World Championships they earned the silver medal while in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

they earned bronze. During the 1995–96 season, her final as a junior curler, Liapis skipped her own team at Nationals, losing in the semifinals. She still got a chance to compete at one more World Junior Championship when Amy Becher's team asked her to be their alternate. At the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

Liapis was alternate for Lisa Schoeneberg's Team USA; they finished in fifth place with a 2–5 record. A few months later she won her first United States Women's Championship, playing second for her sister with Lori Kreklau at third and

Ann Swisshelm Ann Swisshelm (born March 9, 1968) is a curler from Chicago. Swisshelm represented the United States in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Olympics. She has also been known as Ann Swisshelm Silver. Career Swisshelm began curli ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

. As American champions they represented the United States at the 1998 World Women's Championship in

Kamloops, British Columbia Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, ...

. They finished in ninth place with a 2–7 record. In 2001 Liapis won her second women's national championship, again playing second with her sister Kari as skip and Swisshelm as lead but this time with

Debbie McCormick Deborah McCormick ( Henry, born January 8, 1974) is an American curler from Rio, Wisconsin. Although born in Canada, McCormick moved to Madison, Wisconsin when she was very young. McCormick is a World Champion and four-time Olympian. Career ...

at third. At that year's World's they finished in sixth place with a 5–4 record. The team maintained the same lineup for the 2001–02 season, winning the Olympic Trials and finishing second at Nationals. At the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

they entered the playoffs as the third seed team but lost their semifinal game to Switzerland's

Luzia Ebnöther Luzia Ebnöther (born 19 October 1971) is a Swiss curler and Olympic medalist. She received a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital an ...

. In the bronze medal game they faced the number one seed Canada with skip Kelley Law, losing 5–9 to finish in fourth place.

Personal life

Liapis was one of the athletes supported by

Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the largest home improvement r ...

and the Olympic Job Opportunity Program, whereby she worked 20 hours a week, got paid for 40 and was given flexible working hours in order to complete her training requirements.

Teams

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liapis, Stacey 1974 births Living people People from Bemidji, Minnesota American female curlers Olympic curlers for the United States Curlers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Curlers at the 2002 Winter Olympics 21st-century American women