Suzuki was a member of a team, "Tokoro Junior High school Robins", with Chinami Yoshida, Yurika Yoshida, and Kaho Onodera. They were the Hokkaido representative at the Japan Curling Championships, where they ranked third in both 2006[1] and 2007.[2]
Suzuki and teammates Mari Motohashi and Yurika Yoshida added former skip Chinami Yoshida to their team at third for the 2014–15 season. With the team, she won her first World Curling Tour title at the 2014 Avonair Cash Spiel. Later that season, at the national championships, they lost the final against the Ogasawara rink to miss a berth to the world championships.
Team Fujisawa played in no World Curling Tour events during the abbreviated 2020–21 season as there were no events held in Japan or Asia.[10] The team would compete in the 2021 Japan Curling Championships, held from February 8 to 14, 2021 in Wakkanai, Hokkaido, as the defending champions.[11] After an unblemished 6–0 round robin record, the team defeated Team Sayaka Yoshimura of Hokkaido Bank to advance to the final where they would once again face Yoshimura.[12] Down one in the tenth, Team Yoshimura scored two points to win the national championship 7–6 over Team Fujisawa.[13] This meant that once again, the team would not get to represent Japan at the World Championships. Team Fujisawa ended their season at the 2021 Champions Cup and 2021 Players' Championship Grand Slam events, which were played in a "curling bubble" in Calgary, Alberta, with no spectators, to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.[14] The team had quarterfinal finishes at both events, losing out to Rachel Homan at the Champions Cup and Anna Hasselborg at the Players'.[15][16]
In their first event of the 2021–22 season, Team Fujisawa finished runner-up at the 2021 Hokkaido Bank Curling Classic. They then played in the 2021 Japanese Olympic Curling Trials, which were held in a best-of-five contest between the Fujisawa and Sayaka Yoshimura rinks.[17] After losing the first two games, Team Fujisawa rattled off three straight victories to win the trials and earn the right to represent Japan at the 2021 Olympic Qualification Event. There, the team finished third in the round robin and then defeated South Korea to secure their spot in the 2022 Winter Olympics.[18] At the Games, Team Fujisawa led Japan to a 5–4 round robin record, enough to qualify as the fourth seeds in the playoff round. They then defeated the number one seeds in Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni to advance to the Olympic final, where they would face Great Britain's Eve Muirhead.[19] The team could not keep their momentum going in the final, however, dropping the match 10–3, earning the silver medal.[20] Elsewhere on tour for the season, Team Fujisawa lost in the final of the 2021 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic after a previously undefeated record. In November, they went undefeated to claim the Red Deer Curling Classic.[21] In Grand Slam play, they only qualified in one of three events they played in, the 2022 Players' Championship, where they reached the quarterfinals. The team wrapped up their season at the 2022 Japan Curling Championships. There, they went 7–1 through the round robin and won the 1 vs. 2 page playoff game over Hokkaido Bank. They then defeated the Ikue Kitazawa's Chubu Electric Power team 7–3 in the final to claim the national title.[22]
The Fujisawa rink won their second event of the 2022–23 season, going undefeated to win the Advics Cup.[23] At the 2022 National, the team went undefeated until the semifinals where they were stopped by Kerri Einarson 8–5.[24] They also lost to Team Einarson at the next Slam, 6–5 in a tiebreaker. Because they won the 2022 national championship, Team Fujisawa represented Japan at the 2022 Pan Continental Curling Championships where they finished third in the round robin with a 6–2 record.[25] They then beat Canada's Einarson in the semifinal before defeating Korea's Ha Seung-youn 8–6 in the championship game.[26] The team again missed the playoffs at the 2022 Masters after a 1–3 record.[27] In the new year, the team was the first qualifier at the 2023 Canadian Open, winning all three of their pre-qualifying matches. They then won 8–7 over Anna Hasselborg in the quarterfinals and 7–6 over Gim Eun-ji in the semifinals to reach their first Slam final. There, they became the first Asian team to win a Slam, excluding defunct events, with a 5–3 win over Team Einarson.[28] Team Fujisawa won their second straight national title at the 2023 Japan Curling Championships, defeating SC Karuizawa Club's Asuka Kanai 7–5 in the final.[29] This qualified them for the 2023 World Women's Curling Championship where they qualified for the playoffs with a 7–5 record.[30] They were then eliminated by Canada 6–4 in the qualification round.[31] They finished their season with a quarterfinal appearance at the 2023 Players' Championship and a semifinal appearance at the 2023 Champions Cup, losing out to the Einarson rink at both events.[32]
For a second year in a row, Team Fujisawa won the Advics Cup to begin their season, going undefeated to claim the title.[33] Because they defended their title at the national championship, they again represented Japan at the 2023 Pan Continental Curling Championships, this year finishing second through the round robin with a 6–1 record. In the semifinal, they stole the win against the United States' Tabitha Peterson before coming up short against Korea's Gim Eun-ji in the final, settling for silver.[34] In December, the team went undefeated at the 2023 Western Showdown until the semifinal where they lost 6–2 to Jolene Campbell. In the new year, they could not defend their national title, failing to reach the playoff round of the 2024 Japan Curling Championships.[35] They bounced back with a strong run at the Sun City Cup before losing the final to Isabella Wranå.[36] In Grand Slam play, the team only qualified in one of five events during the 2023–24 season, losing in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Canadian Open to Team Einarson.[37]
Personal life
Suzuki was born in Kitami, Hokkaido.[38] She started curling when she was at elementary school.[39] She was educated at Asahikawa National College of Technology and Kitami Institute of Technology where she gained a Bachelor of Engineering degree in 2014.[40]
Suzuki was hired by Abashiri Trust Bank but then transferred to Kitami City Physical Education Association to concentrate on curling full-time.[39] She is currently employed as an office worker.[41]
^"Profile:Japan"(PDF). Eye Opener. World Women's Curling Swift Current 2016. No. 2. Curling Canada. 2016. p. 15. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
^ ab"「もぐもぐ」鈴木夕湖、亡き恩師とクリームソーダ" ["Munching" Yumi Suzuki, deceased former teacher and cream soda]. Nikkan Sports News (in Japanese). February 28, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
^"LS北見銅メダル獲得おめでとうございます" [Congratulations on winning LS Kitami bronze medal]. Kitami Institute of Technology (in Japanese). February 26, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
