Sylvie Quillian Explained

Sylvie Quillian
Birth Name:Sylvie Robichaud
Birth Date:18 June 1980
Birth Place:Moncton, New Brunswick
Curling Club:Curl Moncton,
Moncton, NB
Skip:Sylvie Quillian
Third:Jennifer Armstrong
Second:Erin Carmody
Lead:Katie Vandenborre
Hearts Appearances:6
Top Cca Ranking:11th (2022–23)

Sylvie Quillian (born June 18, 1980, as Sylvie Robichaud) is a Canadian curler from Riverview, New Brunswick. She currently skips her own team out of Curl Moncton in Moncton. She has won five New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts and was the New Brunswick provincial junior champion from 1999 to 2001.[1]

Career

Juniors

Quillian skipped the New Brunswick team at three straight Canadian Junior Curling Championships from 1999 to 2001. She had a 6–6 sixth-place finish in 1999 and a 4–8 eleventh-place finish in 2000. Her best finish came in 2001 where she finished with a 7–5 record, just missing the playoffs.

Women's

Quillian won her first New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2008 with teammates Danielle Nicholson, Marie Richard and Julie Carrier. At the 2008 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, her team finished in last place with a 1–10 record. She could not defend her title the next season, finishing 3–4 at the 2009 New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts. After once again not qualifying for the playoffs in 2010, Quillian and her rink of Nicholson, Richard and Kendra Lister finished 6–1 through the round robin of the 2011 New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts. They then defeated Rebecca Atkinson in the semifinal before losing the provincial final to Andrea Crawford 7–2. Her rink also qualified for the playoffs the following year, before losing in the semifinal to Mary Jane McGuire.

After another semifinal loss in 2013, Quillian made the provincial final again in 2014 where she once again faced Crawford. Up 7–6 in the last end, her team gave up two points and lost the match 8–7. She would finally win her second provincial title in 2015 where her new rink of Atkinson, Richard and Jane Boyle defeated Melissa Adams 7–6 in the provincial final.[2] [3] At the 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick defeated higher seeds such as Ontario's Julie Hastings and Team Canada's Rachel Homan, ultimately finishing the round robin with a 4–7 record. Quillian was able to defend her title at the 2016 New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts,[4] sending her to her third Canadian championship in Grand Prairie, Alberta.[5] At the end of the round robin, New Brunswick was placed last with a 2–9 record, meaning they would be relegated to the pre-qualification event the following year.[6] Also during the 2015–16 season, her team played in the 2015 GSOC Tour Challenge Tier 2 Grand Slam of Curling event, where they lost in the quarterfinals to Jamie Sinclair.

Quillian and her new rink of Jessica Ronalds, Nicole Arsenault Bishop and Michelle Majeau began the 2016–17 season by winning the 2016 Jim Sullivan Curling Classic.[7] They would not however win the 2017 New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts, losing in a tiebreaker to Melissa Adams. After the season, Adams joined the team at third, with Arsenault Bishop remaining at second and Lister returning to play lead. It proved to be a successful move as the Quillian (Robichaud at the time) rink won the 2018 New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts.[8] At the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Quillian would have her most successful Scotties to date, finishing the new pool play format with a 4–3 record. This placed them fifth in their pool, not enough to qualify for the Championship Pool.[9] The following season, the team would win the 2018 Tim Hortons Spitfire Arms Cash Spiel on the World Curling Tour.[10] At provincials, they lost in the semifinal to Sarah Mallais. The following season they made the final of the 2020 New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts, before losing to the Crawford rink 6–3. After the season, Crawford's third Jennifer Armstrong moved to Saskatchewan and Quillian took her place at third on the team.[11]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Brunswick, the 2021 provincial championship was cancelled. As the reigning provincial champions, Team Crawford was given the invitation to represent New Brunswick at the 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, but they declined due to work and family commitments.[12] Team Melissa Adams was then invited in their place, which they accepted.[13]

Team Crawford played in five tour events during the 2021–22 season, performing well in all of them. In their first event, The Curling Store Cashspiel, the team reached the final where they lost to Nova Scotia's Christina Black upon giving up a stolen victory.[14] They then lost in the final of the Steele Cup Cash two weeks later to the Melodie Forsythe rink.[15] They would then secure two victories in their next two events, going undefeated to claim the titles of the Dave Jones Stanhope Simpson Insurance Mayflower Cashspiel and the Atlantic Superstore Monctonian Challenge.[16] The team then had a semifinal finish at the Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic, dropping the semifinal game to Switzerland's Corrie Hürlimann.[17]

The 2022 New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts was cancelled due to the pandemic and Team Crawford were selected to represent their province at the 2022 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay, Ontario.[18] At the Hearts, the team began the event with five straight wins, the most consecutive wins to start a Tournament of Hearts of any New Brunswick team. Team Crawford finished the round robin with a 6–2 record, qualifying for the playoff round over higher seeded teams such as Wild Card #2 (Chelsea Carey), Wild Card #3 (Emma Miskew) and Saskatchewan's Penny Barker.[19] They then defeated the Northwest Territories' Kerry Galusha in the knockout round and upset Team Canada's Kerri Einarson to reach the 1 vs. 2 page playoff game, becoming the first New Brunswick team to reach the playoffs since Heidi Hanlon in 1991.[20] They then lost to Northern Ontario's Krista McCarville in the 1 vs. 2 game and Canada's Einarson rink in the semifinal, earning the bronze medal from the event.[21] After the event, the team announced they would be parting ways with second Jillian Babin due to her relocation to Ontario.[22] They then announced on March 4, 2022, that Jill Brothers would be joining them as their new second.[23]

With the 2022 PointsBet Invitational being held in Fredericton, Team Kelly qualified as the host team. In the first round, they lost to Jennifer Jones 9–5 and were eliminated.[24] On tour, the team qualified for the playoffs in all six events they played in, however, did not win any titles. They began with back-to-back quarterfinal appearances at the 2022 Stu Sells Toronto Tankard and the 2022 Tour Challenge Tier 2 Slam event. They then reached two consecutive semifinals at the Lady Monctonian and the 2022 Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic.[25] In November, they went undefeated at the Jim Sullivan Curling Classic until the final where they lost to Suzanne Birt.[26] They then reached the quarterfinals of the DeKalb Superspiel. In the new year, the team continued their dominance in New Brunswick, going undefeated through the prelim and provincial championship to win the 2023 New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts.[27] In the final, they beat Abby Burgess 10–5. This qualified them for the 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kamloops, British Columbia. After much success in 2022, the team finished seventh in their pool at the Hearts with a 3–5 record, only managing wins against Wild Card #2, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Yukon.[28] After the Scotties, Kelly announced she would be leaving the team to join the Krista McCarville rink out of Northern Ontario.[29] Quillian then formed her own team with Sarah Mallais, Carol Webb and former teammate Jane Boyle for the 2023–24 season.[30]

Mixed

Aside from women's play, Quillian has represented New Brunswick at two Canadian Mixed Curling Championships, skipping the team in 2011 and 2013. She had successful results on both occasions, reaching the semifinal in 2011[31] and losing a tiebreaker in 2013.[32]

Personal life

Quillian works as a financial controller for Brona Transport Ltd.[33] She attended the Université de Moncton.[34] She is married.[35]

Teams

Season Skip Third Second Lead
1998–99[36] Sylvie Robichaud Marie Richard
1999–00Sylvie Robichaud Nicole Arsenault Marie Richard
2007–08 Sylvie Robichaud Marie Richard
2004–05Sylvie Robichaud Heather McIntosh Marie Richard
2007–08 Sylvie Robichaud Marie Richard Julie Carrier
2009–10 Sylvie Robichaud Danielle Nicholson Marie Richard Kendra Dickison
2010–11 Sylvie Robichaud Danielle Nicholson Marie Richard Kendra Dickison
2011–12 Sylvie Robichaud Danielle Nicholson Marie Richard Kendra Lister
2012–13 Sylvie Robichaud Danielle Amos Marie Richard Kendra Lister
2013–14 Sylvie Robichaud Marie Richard
2014–15 Sylvie Robichaud Marie Richard Jane Boyle
2015–16 Sylvie Robichaud Rebecca Atkinson Marie Richard Jane Boyle
2016–17 Sylvie Robichaud Nicole Arsenault Bishop Michelle Majeau
2017–18 Sylvie Robichaud Nicole Arsenault Bishop Kendra Lister
2018–19 Sylvie Robichaud Melissa Adams Nicole Arsenault Bishop Kendra Lister
2019–20 Sylvie Quillian Melissa Adams Nicole Arsenault Bishop Kendra Lister
2020–21 Sylvie Quillian Katie Forward
2021–22Andrea Crawford Sylvie Quillian Jillian Babin Katie Forward
2022–23Andrea Kelly Sylvie Quillian Katie Forward
2023–24Sylvie Quillian (Fourth) Sarah Mallais (Skip) Carol Webb Jane Boyle
2024–25Sylvie Quillian Katie Vandenborre

Notes and References

  1. Web site: New Brunswick Junior Women's Champions. Maritime Curling Info. October 13, 2020.
  2. Web site: Robichaud completes field for Scotties. TSN. February 1, 2015. October 13, 2020.
  3. Web site: 2015 New Brunswick Scotties. CurlingZone. November 30, 2019.
  4. News: Scotties Playdowns – The Winners. TSN. January 14, 2016. October 13, 2020.
  5. Web site: 2016 New Brunswick Scotties. CurlingZone. November 30, 2019.
  6. News: 2016 Scottties Standings. TSN. February 4, 2016. October 13, 2020.
  7. News: WCT Recap: Menard, Robichaud win in NB. TSN. December 5, 2016. October 13, 2020.
  8. Web site: 2018 New Brunswick Scotties. CurlingZone. November 30, 2019.
  9. News: New Brunswick ends Scotties on high note. TSN. February 2, 2018. October 13, 2020.
  10. Web site: Sylvie Robichaud wins Tim Hortons Spitfire Arms Cash Spiel. CurlingZone. November 30, 2019.
  11. News: Team Crawford Team Announcement. Facebook. June 18, 2020. July 22, 2020.
  12. News: What's the status of Canada's provincial and territorial curling playdowns?. TSN. December 4, 2020. February 22, 2022.
  13. News: Team Adams representing New Brunswick at the 2021 Scotties in Calgary. Facebook. Team Comeau. January 20, 2021. February 22, 2022.
  14. News: Curling tours recap!. Curling Canada. September 27, 2021. February 22, 2022.
  15. Web site: Congratulations to Team Forsythe and Team Grattan for winning this years Steele Cup! Thank you to all the teams who travelled near and far to come and for following all the extra protocols put in place. An extra special thank you to Steele GMC Buick Fredericton for sponsoring again this year!. Capital Winter Club. Facebook. October 11, 2021. February 22, 2022.
  16. Web site: Team Andrea Crawford. CurlingZone. February 22, 2022.
  17. News: Stuart Thompson, Suzanne Birt win Stu Sells curling titles. Saltwire. George Myrer. November 14, 2021. February 22, 2022.
  18. News: Crawford to represent New Brunswick at Scotties. CurlingZone. January 14, 2022. February 22, 2022.
  19. News: A helping hand!. Curling Canada. February 3, 2022. February 22, 2022.
  20. News: Einarson, Team Canada defeat New Brunswick's Crawford, advance to Scotties final. CTV News Winnipeg. Jim Morris. February 6, 2022. February 22, 2022.
  21. News: Team Canada eyes three-peat!. Curling Canada. February 6, 2022. February 22, 2022.
  22. News: After a great season and many great years together, we are sad to be losing our second, Jillian Babin.. Team Kelly. Facebook. February 23, 2022. March 14, 2022.
  23. News: We are very excited to share that Jillian Brothers will be joining our lineup at the second position!. Team Kelly. Facebook. March 4, 2022. March 14, 2022.
  24. News: One win in the bank!. Curling Canada. September 21, 2022. January 2, 2024.
  25. News: Epping, Lawes win 1824 Halifax Classic. TSN. November 15, 2022. January 2, 2024.
  26. News: Birt wins Jim Sullivan Curling Classic. CurlingZone. January 2, 2024.
  27. News: Kelly defends New Brunswick Scotties title. CurlingZone. January 2, 2024.
  28. News: Jones eyes record book!. Curling Canada. February 23, 2023. January 2, 2024.
  29. News: 9-time N.B. provincial champion Andrea Kelly links up with Team McCarville. CBC Sports. Rory Summer. March 27, 2023. January 2, 2024.
  30. News: We are happy to announce our curling team for the upcoming season. We can't wait to hit the ice together!. Team Quillian. Facebook. June 27, 2023. January 2, 2024.
  31. Web site: Newe Brunswick grabs last semi spot at Canadian Mixed. CBC Sports. November 17, 2011. October 13, 2020.
  32. News: Four teams still alive in bid for Canadian Mixed crown. Curling Canada. November 22, 2013. October 13, 2020.
  33. 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Media Guide: Biographies, Team New Brunswick
  34. Web site: Robichaud stumbles at jr. curling nationals. CBC Sports. February 5, 2001. October 13, 2020.
  35. Web site: 2022 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Media Guide. Curling Canada. January 26, 2022.
  36. Web site: Sylvie Quillian Past Teams. CurlingZone. November 30, 2019.