By Jonathan Brazeau
VICTORIA — Top of the world to you, Yannick Schwaller.
Schwaller and his squad — fourth Benoît Schwarz, second Sven Michel and lead Pablo Lachat-Couchepin — rose to No. 1 in the world rankings last month after opening the season with back-to-back wins at the Baden Masters and Euro Super Series.
It was not only Schwaller's first time reaching the top of the charts, but also the first time any Swiss men's team achieved the feat.
Considering all the great Swiss men's curlers over the years, including those related to him, like his father Christof Schwaller and uncle Andi Schwaller, that's quite the accomplishment.
Now if only being No. 1 came with a trophy, a medal, or even a wedge of cheese.
"It doesn't change the daily life, that's for sure," Schwaller said Wednesday during the GSOC Co-op Invitational. "But still, Benoît said yesterday something like, in the last 30 years, how many No. 1s were there? Maybe 10, 12, something like that. Not many did that, so it's cool to have done that. It's kind of like a check on the bucket list, but now work goes on.
"Being the first Swiss, it's also cool to have done that, especially because watching my dad curl and watching Slams with him like 20 years before. He always talked about the Canadians and how it's tough to beat them and probably not going to happen that you can reach that kind of level. Now, to be there and kind of do it also for him a bit, that's been cool."
It's like Schwaller heard that it couldn't be done and took it personally.
Although being No. 1 might seem like having a target on your back, Schwaller isn't feeling any extra pressure.
"I think as soon as you start thinking about that or when you enter the tournament and say, like, 'OK, we have to finish ahead of them, otherwise they will catch us,' I think then you lose focus on yourself, your performance, which really is not the goal," he said. "We are always a team that's not very result-oriented, more performance-oriented and behavioural, so that's what we try to keep focused on."
Indeed, even with a 2-0 record in the GSOC Co-op Invitational, winning 7-6 over Team John Epping on Tuesday and 8-2 over Team Kevin Koe on Wednesday, Schwaller believes there's still room for improvement.
"Always looking for a bit of one or two rocks that can get better and make our lives easier," Schwaller said after the win over Koe. "I think also in this game, especially my performance, could have been better to make things easier on the team. Luckily, Benoît barely missed a beat.
"Also, yesterday, the second half was a bit sloppy, but other than that, we're feeling great. As the week goes on, I hope we can progress and get rid of those shakes and then be very good in the playoffs."
Kennedy keen on winning elusive 18th Slam
Brad Jacobs has won the Brier and an Olympic gold medal with his Calgary-based club, but a Grand Slam title has remained somewhat elusive since he linked up with third Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant, lead Ben Hebert and coach Paul Webster two years ago.
For Kennedy, one more Slam would tie him with his former skip, the legendary Kevin Martin, for the most titles in the men's division at 18.
"Oh, that's a big one," Kennedy said Wednesday after his team's 6-3 win over Team Brendan Bottcher. "I've been stuck at 17 Slams for a few years. I think I've lost four or five finals in a row, so one of our goals is to perform a little better at the Slams.
"I mean, these are the hardest events to win. There's no question. To try to win a couple more would be icing on the cake for sure."
While going out on top after winning a second Olympic gold medal would have been a storybook ending, Kennedy still has more chapters to write.
"There was a chat about potentially retiring after last year, but I honestly just love this group of guys. I love the foundation we've built with Paul and the systems we have," Kennedy said. "I honestly felt there was room for us to keep getting better, and that's the secret to continuing to practise and keep doing all the right things.
"I'm excited to see where we can continue to take this, and it feels like the right decision to keep playing."
Team Jacobs was one of the few who didn't disband over the off-season, as several skips either called it a career or revamped their rosters ahead of the new Olympic cycle.
Brendan Bottcher, who had played second for Brad Gushue over the past couple of seasons, returned to his skip roots, sticking with lead Geoff Walker and adding brothers Jake and Tanner Horgan at third and second, respectively.
While the GSOC Co-op Invitational is Team Jacobs's tour season debut, Bottcher hit the road early and often, reaching the semifinals in four events. Kennedy was intrigued to see how his team stacked up against the new-look Bottcher squad.
"They've had a good season. That's a good team. They're going to be up there with the best of the Canadian team," Kennedy said. "We didn't play great. I think the first four ends, maybe the first five ends, we were chasing them quite a bit, but we made some big shots when it mattered, and Brad made some big ones. It's a good test for us.
"We were excited to come here and play. It's been a long off-season, so it's nice to feel the juices out there and just to be back with the guys and battling feels good."
Early mornings lead to early wins for Casper
Danny Casper and his American team played back-to-back morning draws to start the GSOC Co-op Invitational, and converted them into back-to-back wins.
Casper defeated Japan's Team Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi 10-6 on Tuesday and Team Takumi Maeda 9-3 on Wednesday.
"It feels good," Casper said. We've struggled with early-morning games in the past, so we've been testing out a lot of different things to do early in the morning and before the game to make sure that we're ready to play. It's been a good start so far, so I can't complain."
Casper returned this season with third Luc Violette, second Ben Richardson and lead Aidan Oldenburg, with only alternate Rich Ruohonen stepping back from the squad that represented the U.S. at the Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina.
"Sticking together is something that I think very highly of," Casper said. "I think it's important to fight through things together and deal with issues together. Not that we have a million of them, but every team has them.
"I've never really liked the whole concept of just kind of quitting and finding somebody else. You're going to be better as a team in the long run when you have those kinds of things in place dealing with those issues."
Casper looks to clinch a playoff spot in a top-tier Grand Slam for the first time in his next game, and it'll be a big one. His Chaska, Minnesota, club will face the reigning Brier champs, Team Matt Dunstone, on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT in a game that will be televised back home on ESPNU.
"It's really exciting to be on TV there. A lot of my friends are going to be able to watch a lot easier," Casper said. "Dunstone's a great team. We've played them a bunch of times now over the last few years and always have some good battles.
"He's obviously been winning a lot for a few years now, so it's been really cool to just compete against him, learn a lot and try to take everything in while also trying to win, obviously. It's going to be fun."
Whyte sharp in shootout
Grant Hardie picked up his second win in the Co-op Invitational after fourth Ross Whyte nailed the draw to the button in the shootout to edge Team John Epping 6-5 Wednesday morning.
"Yeah, it's tense," Whyte said. "It's one of those I'd just thrown it, but we were taking a slightly higher line, so we knew how to bring it a touch in to get close to the button. Thankfully, we kind of guessed right and put it really close.
"It's pretty much on the pin, but we knew as soon as we left the pin for John, he's going to be right there about it, so it's a bit scary at that point, but we're really pleased to get a victory."
Hardie joined the Scottish squad formerly known as Team Whyte this season. Whyte continues to throw the last rocks, with Hardie handling skip duties at third.
Whyte, who won a world bronze medal and two Grand Slams as a skip, said he's really enjoying his new role.
"I really like the social aspect of being with the boys. I get to communicate between Grant and the boys and that kind of piece that brings it all together, which is a nice feeling," Whyte said.
"It's quite lonely being in the house by yourself, so the way we're working, it's quite nice. Grant gets that experience of being with the boys as well, down the other end when it comes to his shots, so it feels like it's working really well so far."
