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Bill Stopera
American curler

Bill Stopera

The basics

Quick Facts

Intro
American curler
Work field
Gender
Male
Place of birth
Schenectady, Schenectady County, New York, USA
Age
56 years
Education
Northeastern University
The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

William "Bill" Stopera (born August 13, 1968) is an American curler from Briarcliff Manor, New York.

Career

Stopera began curling in 1977 as a junior in Schenectady, New York.

In 2009, Stopera teamed up with Matt Hames, Martin Sather, and Dean Gemmell, and finished 4th at the 2010 United States Men's Curling Championship. The next year, Heath McCormick joined the team, replacing Matt Hames, who retired as skip. That year Stopera and the team competed in the 2011 United States Men's Curling Championship, finishing fourth after a playoff loss to Todd Birr.

Stopera returned with the team the next year to play in the 2012 nationals and went through the round robin undefeated, eventually securing their first national title with a win over defending champion Pete Fenson. The team finished the event at 12-0. After winning the National Championship, the team played in the 2012 World Men's Curling Championship in Basel, Switzerland. The team finished 8th with a record of 4-7.

In 2013, Stopera competed with team North America and won the Continental Cup of Curling. He also competed in the 2013 US Men's National Championship and finished fourth after a playoff loss to eventual winner Brady Clark. The following season at the 2013 Olympic Trials, the team finished in 3rd place with a 4-4 record. McCormick left team midway through the 2013-14 season, and Tyler George was brought on to skip. The George rink played in the 2014 United States Men's Curling Championship, finishing with a 4-5 record. After the season, George left the team and was replaced with Gemmell as skip, with Sather playing lead and new addition Calvin Weber at second. Midway through the season, Mark Lazar was brought on to play lead and replace Calvin Weber, moving Martin Sather to second. The team qualified for the 2015 United States Men's Curling Championship where they finished 5th after losing in a tie-breaker. At the end of the 2015, Stopera went to the 2015 United States Club Men's Championship in Fargo, North Dakota with his son Andrew, Peter Austin and George Austin. There, the team won the bronze medal with a 7-5 record.

For the 2015-2016 curling season, Heath McCormick returned to the team as skip with Dean Gemmell moving back to second and Martin Sather leaving to form a new team. The rink retained Mark Lazar at lead and added Andrew Stopera as its alternate.Stopera and team qualified for the 2016 United States Men's Curling Championship in Jacksonville, Florida where they had a poor showing, coming in 10th place. Later in the year, Stopera returned to the Club National Championships, this time with Martin Sather replacing his son Andrew at skip. Despite losing second Peter Austin to a torn abdominal muscle he suffered while sweeping in the middle of the competition, Stopera and his 3 man team won the championship, defeating Illinois in the final.

Personal life

Stopera grew up in Schenectady, New York, and studied at Northeastern University. He works as an insurance broker with Professional Group Marketing. He is married and has two children, Megan and Andrew.

Teams

SeasonSkipThirdSecondLeadEvents
2009–10Matt HamesBill StoperaMartin SatherDean Gemmell2010 USNCC
2010–11Heath McCormickBill StoperaMartin SatherDean Gemmell2011 USNCC
2011–12Heath McCormickBill StoperaMartin SatherDean Gemmell2012 USNCC, 2012 WCC
2012–13Heath McCormickBill StoperaMartin SatherDean Gemmell2013 USNCC
2013–14Heath McCormickBill StoperaDean GemmellMartin Sather2013 USOCT
Tyler GeorgeBill StoperaDean GemmellMartin Sather2014 USNCC
2014–15Dean GemmellBill StoperaMartin SatherMark Lazar2015 USNCC
2015–16Heath McCormickBill StoperaDean GemmellMark Lazar2016 USNCC
2016–17Bill StoperaDean GemmellMark Lazar

Statistics

YearTeamPositionEventFinishRecordPct.
2010HamesThird2010 USNCC4th6–5
2011McCormickThird2011 USNCC4th6–4
2012McCormickThird2012 USNCC1st12–0
2012McCormickThird2012 WCC8th4–7
2013McCormickThird2013 USNCC4th7–578.0
2013McCormickThird2013 USOCT3rd4–478.0
2014GeorgeThird2014 USNCC6th4–581.8
2015GemmellThird2015 USNCC5th5–676.1
2015StoperaThird2015 USCNCC3rd7–5
2016McCormickThird2016 USNCC10th1–871.3
2016SatherThird2016 USCNCC1st8–3
United States Men's Curling Championships41–33
The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
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