Amy Becher (born May 24, 1978) is an American curler from

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

. In 2000, she won the

United States Women's Curling Championship The United States Women's Curling Championship is the annual women's national curling championship for the United States. It is run by the United States Curling Association (USCA) and typically held in conjunction with the Men's Curling Champi ...

as vice-skip on

Amy Wright Amy Wright is an American actress and former model. She has appeared in such films as '' The Deer Hunter'', '' Breaking Away'', '' The Accidental Tourist'', '' Hard Promises'', '' Crossing Delancey'', and '' Miss Firecracker''. She is the wido ...

's team. They went on to represent the United States at the

2000 World Women's Curling Championship The 2000 World Women's Curling Championship (branded as 2000 Ford World Women's Curling Championship for sponsorship reasons) was held at the Braehead Arena in Renfrew, Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingd ...

Curling career

Becher competed at her first junior national championship in 1994, finishing last. She returned to junior nationals in 1995 and finished fourth. Becher again improved her results at the 1996 Junior Nationals, winning the championship 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 aiding ...

of her own team. As Team USA at the

1996 World Junior Curling Championships The 1996 Kärcher World Junior Curling Championships were held in Red Deer, Alberta March 9–17. Men's Tiebreakers * 8-3 * 8-7 Playoffs Women's Tiebreaker * 8-3 Playoffs Sources {{World Junior Curling Championships J World Ju ...

they finished last with a 0–9 record. In 1997 Becher joined Risa O'Connell's team at

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hi ...

, defended her junior national title and improved her World Juniors result by finished in fourth place at the 1997 World Juniors. She returned to the World Junior Championships a third time in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

, as alternate on Hope Schmitt's team. Upon moving from juniors to women's curling, Becher joined

's team at third and found success quickly. At her first Women's National Championship in 1999, Team Wright took the silver medal when they lost to

Patti Lank Patti Lank (born July 4, 1964) is an American curler from Lewiston, New York. Career Patti Lank began curling at the age of eleven and competed at her first US National Championships in 1994 and her team placed fourth. She has since gone on to ...

in the final. They again faced Team Lank in the final of the 2000 Women's Championship, this time winning with a final score of 12–9. As national champions, Becher and Team Wright earned a spot at the 2000 World Women's Championship as well as an opportunity to compete at the 2001 United States Olympic Curling Trials. At World's, they finished in a three-way tie for sixth place with a 4–5 record. During the 2001 Olympic Trials Wright felt she was not playing good enough and stepped aside, allowing Becher to take over skipping duties. Despite the change in line-up, they finished in a three-way tie for last place with a 3–7 record.

Personal life

Becher's parents would bring her along to the curling club when she was young. She started curling competitively through the Ak-Sar-Ben Curling Club's juniors program. Becher graduated from

Minnesota State University, Mankato Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

with a double major in chemistry and teaching.

Awards

* USA Curling Team of the Year 1997

Teams

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Becher, Amy 1978 births Living people American female curlers Sportspeople from Omaha, Nebraska American curling champions 21st-century American women