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

Bemidji, Minnesota Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, Minnesota, Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. According to 2022 census estimates, the ci ...

. 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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, 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 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'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

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. In 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Highway, Trans-Can ...

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 aiding ...

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 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

World Championships they earned the silver medal while in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

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 Amy Becher (born May 24, 1978) is an American curler from Omaha, Nebraska. In 2000, she won the United States Women's Curling Championship as vice-skip on Amy Wright's team. They went on to represent the United States at the 2000 World Women's ...

'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 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

Liapis was alternate for

Lisa Schoeneberg Lisa Schoeneberg (born September 29, 1957) is an American Curling, curler and Olympian. She was a successful Skip (curling), skip in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, leading her teams to two silver medals at the World Championships and r ...

'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 at

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

. 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 North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the administrative centre ...

. 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 Olympic trials are competitions held in certain sports to select teams' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games. History Before 1908, members of United States Olympic teams were selected without trials. The 1908 and 1912 teams were s ...

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 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

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 or SLC, is the capital and most populous ...

. In the bronze medal game they faced the number one seed Canada with skip

Kelley Law Kelley Law (born January 11, 1966, in Burnaby, British Columbia), Atkins, formerly Owen, is a Canadian curler from Coquitlam, British Columbia. She grew up in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Career Law is most notable for winning a bronze medal ...

, losing 5–9 to finish in fourth place.

Personal life

Liapis was one of the athletes supported by

Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...

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 Sportspeople 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 sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen