Marissa Castelli

Marissa Castelli

Castelli and Shnapir atop the medal podium at the 2013 U.S. Championships
Personal information
Country represented United States
Born August 20, 1990
Providence, Rhode Island
Home town Cranston, Rhode Island
Height 5 ft 0 in (1.52 m)
Partner Mervin Tran
Former partner Simon Shnapir, Brad Vigorito
Coach Bruno Marcotte, Bobby Martin
Former coach Carrie Wall, Mark Mitchell
Choreographer Julie Marcotte
Former choreographer Sheryl Franks, Carrie Wall, Robert Martin
Skating club SC of Boston
Training locations Montreal
Boston
Began skating 1994
ISU personal best scores
Combined total 187.82
2014 Winter Olympics
Short program 67.44
2014 Winter Olympics
Free skate 120.38
2014 Winter Olympics

Marissa Castelli (born August 20, 1990) is an American pair skater who skates with Mervin Tran. With former partner Simon Shnapir, she is the 2013 Four Continents bronze medalist, the 2009 World Junior bronze medalist, and a two-time U.S. national champion (2013 & 2014). The pair won a bronze medal in the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Personal life

Castelli was born in Providence, Rhode Island and graduated from Cranston High School West. As of 2013, she is a student at the Community College of Rhode Island.[1] Her brother, Anthony Castelli, played football at Bryant University[2] and her mother is a figure skating coach.[3]

Career

Castelli began skating at age three and enrolled in U.S. Figure Skating's Basic Skills program when she was about five.[3] Early in her career, she competed as a single skater and also skated pairs with Brad Vigorito.[2]

Partnership with Shnapir

Castelli and Simon Shnapir teamed up in April 2006 and began training together in earnest in June.[2][4] They trained in Boston, coached by Bobby Martin, Carrie Wall (technical), Mark Mitchell (in-betweens, polishing), and Peter Johansson (throws).[1] Castelli broke Shnapir's nose once while they were practicing the twist.[5]

Castelli/Shnapir qualified for the 2008 Junior Grand Prix Final and placed sixth. The pair won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Junior Championships.

In the 2009–10 season, Castelli was off the ice for a month after she collided with an Italian while she was skating backwards and landed on his blade, resulting in 15 stitches to her inner thigh.[2][3] The pair placed tenth on the senior level at the 2010 U.S. Championships and were sent to the 2010 Four Continents Championships where they also finished tenth.

In 2012, Castelli/Shnapir split up for a month but decided to recommit to their partnership.[6] They won gold at the 2012 Ice Challenge and then won bronze, their first Grand Prix medal, at the 2012 NHK Trophy.[7] They won their first national title at the 2013 U.S. Championships.[6] They were assigned to the 2013 Four Continents and won the bronze medal.

Castelli/Shnapir won their second national title at the 2014 U.S. Championships and were named in the U.S. team to the 2014 Winter Olympics, held in February in Sochi, Russia. They won a bronze medal in the team event and placed 9th in the pairs event. In March, Castelli/Shnapir finished 11th at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama, Japan. They announced the end of their partnership on May 7, 2014.[8][9]

Partnership with Tran

On June 10, 2014, Castelli announced that she and Canada's Mervin Tran had formed a partnership which would train mainly in Montreal under Bruno Marcotte and to a lesser extent at the Skating Club of Boston under Bobby Martin.[10][11] It was also announced that he was awaiting release from Skate Canada, indicating that they might compete for the United States.[10]

Programs

With Tran

Season Short program Free skating
2014–2015
[11]
  • Ain't No Sunshine
    choreo. by Julie Marcotte

    With Shnapir

    Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
    2013–2014
    [12]
    • Black Magic Woman
      by Santana
    • Smooth
      by Santana
    2012–2013
    [13][14]
    • Payadora
      by Julian Plaza
      choreo. by Julie Marcotte
    2011–2012
    [15]
    2010–2011
    [16]
    • Money
      by Pink Floyd
    • For the Love of Money
      by the O'Jays
    2009–2010
    [2][17]
    • Prelude
    • Quadukka-l-Mayyas
      by Jesse Cook
    2008–2009
    [18]    		 Survivor: Guatemala
    by Russ Landau:
    • Wild Dogs
    • The Gathering
    • Ancient Voices of Guatemala
    2007–2008
    [2]
    • Gladiator
      by Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard
    2006–2007
    [2]
    • Mon Enfant
      by George Winston
    • Salome
      by Richard Strauss

    Competitive highlights

    With Tran

    Results[19]
    National
    Event 2014–15
    US Championships 6th
    GP = Grand Prix

    Pairs career with Shnapir

    Results[2][20]
    International
    Event 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14
    Olympics 9th
    Worlds 13th 11th
    Four Continents 10th 3rd
    GP Bompard 7th
    GP NHK Trophy 7th 3rd 4th
    GP Skate America 6th 5th 6th
    GP Skate Canada 4th
    Ice Challenge 1st
    Ondrej Nepela 4th
    U.S. Classic 4th
    International: Junior
    Junior Worlds 3rd
    JGP Final 6th
    JGP Czech Rep. 4th
    JGP Estonia 10th
    JGP Great Britain 4th
    National
    U.S. Champ. 9th N. 3rd N. 3rd J. 10th 5th 5th 1st 1st
    East. Sectionals 4th N. 1st N. 1st
    Team events
    Olympics 3rd
    World Team 1T/5P
    GP = Grand Prix; JGP = Junior Grand Prix
    Levels: N. = Novice; J. = Junior
    T = Team result; P = Personal result; Medals awarded for team result only.

    Singles career

    Event 2006–07 2007–08
    Eastern Sectionals 9th N. 11th N.
    New England Regionals 4th N.
    N. = Novice level

    References

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Walker, Elvin (January 3, 2013). "Door wide open for Castelli and Shnapir". Golden Skate.
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "Marissa Castelli / Simon Shnapir". IceNetwork.; Older versions: 2008–13 at the Wayback Machine; 2007–08 at the Wayback Machine
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Soroff, Jonathan (January 2014 or earlier). "Marissa Castelli - Breaking the Ice". The Improper Bostonian. Check date values in: |date= (help)
    4. ↑ Mittan, Barry (January 8, 2009). "Castelli and Shnapir Top U.S. Pairs in Junior Grand Prix series". SkateToday. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
    5. ↑ Schwartz, Jason (January 2014). "Q&A: Simon Shnapir & Marissa Castelli". Boston Magazine.
    6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Clarke, Liz (January 26, 2013). "U.S. Figure Skating Championships: Simon Shnapir and Marissa Castelli win pairs; Maryl Davis and Charlie White dominate ice dancing". Washington Post.
    7. ↑ Pave, Martin (December 6, 2012). "Figure skaters Shnapir and Castelli having a breakout season". Boston Globe.
    8. ↑ "Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir End Partnership". U.S. Figure Skating. May 7, 2014.
    9. ↑ Rosewater, Amy (May 8, 2014). "Castelli, Shnapir get off 'emotional roller coaster'". IceNetwork.
    10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Rosewater, Amy (June 10, 2014). "Castelli, Tran teaming up despite logistical hurdles". IceNetwork.
    11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Rutherford, Lynn (July 26, 2014). "Detroit postcards: More pair action off ice than on". IceNetwork.
    12. ↑ "Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014.
    13. ↑ "Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013.
    14. ↑ Rutherford, Lynn (January 15, 2013). "Road to Omaha: Door open for Castelli, Shnapir". IceNetwork.
    15. ↑ "Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012.
    16. ↑ "Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011.
    17. ↑ "Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 20, 2009.
    18. ↑ "Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 1, 2009.
    19. ↑ "Competition Results: Natasha PURICH / Mervin TRAN". International Skating Union.
    20. ↑ "Competition Results: Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014.

    External links

    Media related to Marissa Castelli at Wikimedia Commons