Double Italian third-place finish in Stirling for the Zardini Lacedelli and Spiller teams: Paetz and Schwaller win

An excellent run and two final third-place finishes were the outcome for the Italian teams competing in an international tournament of the highest level in Stirling.

On the Scottish ice, after the four-day Euro Super Series, Team Zardini Lacedelli’s women can celebrate their seasonal debut: skip Giulia, together with Marta Lo Deserto, Elena Antonia Mathis and Rachele Scalesse, enjoyed an immaculate run until the direct semifinal, secured with four wins in as many matches, before losing 6-3 to the squad led by Alina Paetz.

The Cortina team had beaten those same Swiss players in a shoot-out during the first phase, but they got the better of them in the do-or-die match and went on to triumph in the final as well, winning 8-5 in the all-Swiss derby against Xenia Schwaller’s team.

Team Constantini (without Stefania) and the very young Team Mariani, meanwhile, were eliminated in the first phase.

In the men’s tournament in Stirling, the final podium place went to the team led by Stefano Spiller, Cesare Spiller, Sebastiano Arman and Amos Mosaner, who were beaten only in the semifinal, 7-5, by Grant Hardie’s team; the Scottish hosts then had to bow to Yannick Schwaller and his teammates in the title match, losing 8-2 to the dominant Swiss team, which claimed back-to-back titles after the Baden Masters, where Team Spiller had also finished third.

After losing the final in Switzerland the previous week, Team Retornaz (with Joel on the ice alongside Stefano and Andrea Gilli and Alberto Pimpini) were instead shown the red light in the quarterfinals, with Team Carson winning 9-7 after Team Retornaz had lost its first match at the end of the opening phase against Schwaller and his teammates.