Bridge Blog 947: March Badness

Was this my worst month of March ever? I’ll have to check. (Yes, even in my first year of competitive play, 2005, I earned 5.28 points in March.) Needless to say, my grand total of 2.52 club points surely has lowered my standing in the ACBL master point races. For the first quarter of 2017, my tally is 27.19 club points, 33.68 points overall. Now that they’ve been posted on the ACBL website, let’s see how bad the damage is.

Unit 116 (Buffalo only). Ace of Clubs (Club play only). Ruby Life Masters (1,500 to 2,500 points). Mike Silverman is way, way, way ahead with 49.46 points and is second among all Unit 116 players. Gene Finton, who’s down in Florida for the winter, has upped his total to 27.19 and has tied me for second place. We’re both 16th overall in the unit. Last month I was fifth overall.

The rest of the top ten: Ken Meier, 25.96 (19th overall); Fred Yellen, 24.37 (21st); Dorothy May, 23.29 (23rd); Allen Beroza, 16.12 (44th); Chuck Schorr, 13.78 (53rd); Sue Bergman, 11.67 (71st); Art Morth, 11.29 (72nd); and Vince Pesce, 11.11 (74th). (OK, that’s actually 11).

Who is the overall Ace of Clubs leader in Unit 116? Meg Klamp, who’s still down in Florida. She’s got 55.07. The other leaders: Mike Silverman, 49.46; Liz Clark, 40.30; John and Martha Welte, both 35.03; Tom Koralewski, 34.84; Chris Urbanek, 34 even; Jerry Geiger, 32.72; Jay Levy, 32.59; John Ziemer, 30.43; and Bud Seidenberg, 30.31.

Next is Mini-McKenney. All points earned everywhere. Ruby Life Masters.

Leader here is Mike Silverman again, but he’s only 14th overall in the unit. Last month I was second and 15th. Now I’m fourth and 26th. Here are the leaders:

Mike Silverman, 50.40 (14th overall); Ken Meier, 37.33 (20th); Fred Yellen, 34.22 (25th); me, 33.68 (26th); Allen Beroza, 27.92 (37th), Gene Finton, 27.19 (40th); Dorothy May, 24.59 (43rd); Bill Rushmore, 20.31 (52nd); Art Morth, 15.73 (65th); and Chuck Schorr, 14.15 (76th).

Overall Unit 116 Mini-McKenney leaders are: Davis Heussler, 82.84; Christy Kellogg, 78.07; Berg Hargeshimer, 78.01; Meg Klamp, 76.76; Martha and John Welte, both 68.88; Saleh Fetouch, 66.92; Mike Ryan, 62.57; Tom Koralewski, 61 even; and Liz Clark, 60.27.

Onward to the races for District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh).

Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters. For the first time ever, a Unit 116 player does not top this list. Outpointing Mike Silverman is Susan Konig of Bridgeville, Pa. She has 51.56 to Mike’s 49.46. Gene Finton and I are tied for sixth place. Between Mike and us are Chantal Whitney of Bratenahl, Ohio, 37.12; Doris Kirsch of East Springfield, Pa., 30.18; and William Lindgren of Slippery Rock, Pa., 29.33. Ken Meier’s 25.96 makes him eighth.

Susan Konig is sixth among all District 5 Ace of Clubs players. Mike Silverman is seventh. Gene Finton and I are 62nd. Overall leader is this W. Tordella person from Bemus Point with 67.50, followed by Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., 63.80; S. Ruskin and Patricia Katz, both of Pittsburgh, with 58.11 and 56.41, respective; and our Meg Klamp with 55.07.

District 5 Mini-McKenney. Ruby Life Masters. Once again it’s Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio. Now she’s got 161.12. She’s also first among all players. Second is Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, with 138.36, who’s fifth overall. Then there’s a big step down to Susan Konig, 62.95 (39th); William Lindgren, 55.43 (49 th); and Buffalo’s sole top 10 entry, Mike Silverman, 50.40 (61st). They’re the only ones with more than 50 points.

Among all District 5 players, 11 racked up more than 100 points in the first quarter of 2017. Here they are: Sue Lan Ma, 161.12; Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., 152.06; Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 143.96; Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, 143.27; Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, 138.36; Philip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, 128.98; Mary Chilcote of Cleveland, 127.99; Patricia Katz of Pittsburgh, 117.56; Don and Kathleen Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, 110.32 and 107.73, respectively; and Brian Ellis of Beachwood, Ohio, 102.22.

Going nationwide, Ruby Life Master Ace of Clubs leader is Mohan Bali of Columbia, S.C., with 81.05; followed by Barry Nish of Little Neck, L.I., 80.90; Darrell Fung of San Ramon, Calif., 73.49; Gary Waldron of Laguna Beach, Calif, 71.62; and Scott Donaldson of Scottsdale, Ariz., 69.74. Mike Silverman is 97th. The Top 500 list ends at 32.92.

National Ace of Clubs leader overall is Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta, 163.84; followed by Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, 158.23; Mason Barge of Atlanta, 146.25; Sheila Gabay of Newton, Mass., 140.65; and Kay Schulle of Purchase, N.Y., 133.80. Only Buffalo player on this Top 500 list is Meg Klamp. She’s 433rd.

National Mini-McKenney leader among Ruby Life Masters is Gillian Miniter of New York City, 314.17; followed by Sudhakar Divakaruni of Scottsdale, Ariz., 227.57; Jeff Edelstein of Riverview, Fla., 199.28; Maya Alela of Teec Nos Pos, Ariz., 196.71; and Connie Queller of Hudson, Fla., 174.80. District 5’s Sue Lan Ma is seventh. The list cuts off at 54.41 points.

National Mini-McKenney leader among all players is the amazing Chris Compton of Dallas with 830.27. At this pace, he’ll finish the year with more than 3,300 points. Then there are five guys in the 600s – Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., 673.31; Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., 663.86; Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., 639.80; Eddie Wold of Houston, 611.89; and Billy Miller of Las Vegas, 600.13. Buffalo native Joel Wooldridge, now based in Astoria, Queens, is 36 th with 354.75. District 5’s Sue Lan Ma is 276th. The list ends at 127.37.