From the penthouse to the outhouse in just three months.

That's the harsh reality for Italy's promising young skip Diana Gaspari, the likeable and surprising silver medallist at last December's Le Gruyere European Championships.

Here at the world women's curling championship, Gaspari lives a lonely existence on the ice as the losses continue to pile up.

"It's difficult for me," Gaspari said after her fifth consecutive setback, this time 6-5 to host Japan. Later on, she ended the day with a horrid 9-0 loss to Canada in just six ends.

"I can't find draw weight," Gaspari said. "Not at all. "It's not the right feeling, when a skip has no draw weight. You have fear, and you cannot do a lot of things you want to do."

Gaspari steered her Italian charges to the final of the Europeans in Basel, Switzerland, losing to the very young - and also surprising - Russian team. The silver brought huge headlines in the Italian media and tears of joy for Gaspari and her teammates, after years of slow if steady development on the world curling scene.

More of the same was expected in Aomori, but Gaspari is mired in a sporting death spiral. Her personal struggles, which clock in at a miserable 64 per cent in shooting, have made the skip aware of the disappointment in her teammates' eyes.

"I know they are upset with me," Gaspari revealed."They don't want to tell me, but I know. You always know."

Also battling demons is an unlikely foursome: Anette Norberg's Swedish team. Usually a fearful curling machine, the squad's engine clearly needs tinkering as Norberg lost 5-4 in an extra-end to Germany's struggling Andrea Schoepp, and fell to 3-3.
Earlier, Norberg dropped a shocking four points in the final frame of her 8-6 loss to Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni.

"It's a little bit of everything," Norberg shrugged. "We're not playing as well as we can, and the ice today was not as good, there was a little too much curl sometimes."

German second Ana Hartelt took a tumble on Schoepp's winning shot, and narrowly missed "burning" the rock - or touching it - which would have meant a miss and the loss of the game. Hartelt, sprawled across the ice, had to twist herself into a pretzel to avoid the stone as her horrified teammates looked on, and the shot was made and the result saved.

"Oh my God," said an embarrassed Hartelt. "I almost touched it three times, and I had to lift my legs and my broom to avoid it."

In other games, Denmark's Angelina Jensen climbed to 5-1 with a pair of wins, 9-6 over Scotland's Kelly Wood and 7-6 over China's Bingyu Wang. Russia's Ludmila Privikova split her games, defeating Hana Synckova of the Czech Republic 8-6 but losing 9-6 to Debbie McCormick of the United States.

It was a two-win day for the Americans, as they also beat the Czechs by 7-4 count. Canada's Kelly Scott continues to motor along, adding yet another win, this time by an 8-3 scoreline over Japan's Moe Meguro. A surprise has come from Switzerland, where two-time Olympic silver medallist Mirjam Ott has come off the bench to play third for skip Silvana Tirinzoni. After an 0-3 start without Ott in the lienup, the Swiss have now won three in a row to climb back into contention.
 

Kelly Scott (CAN), Sweden, Violetta Caldart & Diana Gaspari (ITA), Scotland