Bridge Blog 1035: July in the rear-view mirror

Unit 116 (Buffalo only), Ace of Clubs (club play only), Ruby Life Masters (players with 1,500 to 2,500 points). 

     I picked up 16.76 club points in July, boosting my Ace of Clubs total to 83.72, enough to maintain fifth place among the Rubies and lift me from 17th to 15th among all players in the unit. Here's the top 10:

      Still on top is David Millward, with 113.21, but that 20-point lead over Allen Beroza has shrunk. After a 25-point month, Allen now has 107.72. Mike Silverman has topped the century mark, too, with 101.52. Martin Pieterse continues in fourth place with 92.12.

Then there’s my 82.72. Ken Meier stays sixth with 81.10. Rounding out the list are Fred Yellen with 67.65, enough to slip ahead of Dorothy May’s 62.76.  Gene Finton continues ninth with 58.13; and Davis Heussler displaces Elaine Kurasiewicz in 10th place with 49.63. Elaine has 44.81.      

Unit 116, Ace of Clubs overall. 

       Sure enough, it’s Alan Greer. A record 55.62-point month at the Airport Bridge Club puts him way, way, way ahead with 257.04.

His sometime partner Nancy Wolstoncroft is still second, a 34-point month bringing her to 171.16; John Ziemer, with a 36-point month, has 155.23; then come David Millward, 113.21; and Liz Clark, 109.02 after a near-30-point month; edging ahead of Allen Beroza’s 107.72.

Seventh is Barbara Libby, 105.50; followed by Mike Silverman, down from sixth to eighth with 101.52. Mike Ryan, 98.06; and Martin Pieterse, 92.12, round out the Top 10.

Second 10 goes like this: Bud Seidenberg, 88.21; Martha and John Welte, both 86.18; Ron Henrikson, 86.04; moi, 83.72; Bob Linn, 83.42; Ken Meier, 81.10; Denise Slattery, 77.77; Judy Graf, 75.41; and Gay Simpson, 73.90.

Taking the list a little further, we have Jay Levy, 73.58; Judi Marshall, 72.59; Jim Easton, 71.08; Ed Morgan, 68.19; and Fred Yellen, 67.65.

      Moving on to the Mini-McKenney races, which count all points earned everywhere, I have cracked the century mark with 103.72, increased entirely by those 16.76 club points, still in sixth place.

     Still far ahead is Davis Heussler at 236.83, who’s still second among all Unit 116 players. Slipping into second place is Ken Meier with 143.11, eleventh in the entire unit.  

David Millward drops to third with 139.55; down from 11th overall to 13th.  Allen Beroza, holds steady in fourth with 127.88, followed by Mike Silverman, 111.96 (up one notch to 23rd).

     I lead the next fivesome with my 103.72, 24th overall, up from 28th. Then Martin Pieterse, 101.84 (up from 34th to 26th); Fred Yellen, 100.69 (28th); then a big drop to Dorothy May, 66.03 (49th); and Elaine Kurasiewicz, 63.78 (51st).  

     Among all players in Unit 116, it’s Alan Greer, with 300.82. Then comes Davis Heussler with his 236.83; John Ziemer crossing the double-century mark with 219.79; Nancy Wolstoncroft, up from eighth to fourth with 196.92; the Weltes, 184.77; Linda Burroughsford, 183.03; Saleh Fetouh, 165.93.

The Weltes, tied for third a month ago, now are tied for sixth with 162.88; followed by Jay Levy, 157.10; and Mike Ryan 147.58.

The second 10, all in three figures, include Ken Meier, 143.11; Sandi England, 140.50; David Millward, 139.55; Chris Urbanek, 134.60; Barbara Libby, 132.43; Allen Beroza, 127.88; Bud Seidenberg, 124.06; Christy Kellogg, 121.97; Dian Petrov, 121.34; and Liz Clark, 118.67.

       Now let’s widen our horizons.

District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh) Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters. 

     Here Unit 116 players hold four of the top five places, and six of the top 10. Leader still is David Millward, with 113.21; though his lead over the man he displaced in April, Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., has almost disappeared. Goulding has 111.41. Millward has slipped from eighth to 10th among all District 5 players. Goulding is down from 11th to 12th.   

     Allen Beroza continues third with 107.72 (14th overall in the district, up from 16th). Then it’s Mike Silverman, 101.52 (17th); Martin Pieterse with 92.12 (23rd, up from 31st); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 86.37 (29th, up from 34th); Chantal Whitney of Bratenahl, Ohio, 84.19; me, 83.72 (36th, up from 40th); James Wheeler of Edinburg, Pa., 82.95 (down from seventh on this list, but still overall 39th); and Ken Meier, 81.10 (41st).

Overall Ace of Clubbers in District 5 look like this:

Now there are three Buffalonians on top – Alan Greer with 257.04, Nancy Wolstoncroft with 171.16 and John Ziemer, up from sixth with 155.23. John has just edged ahead of Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 155.02. Then it’s Arlene Port of Pittsburgh, 151.86; Richard Katz of North Versailles, Pa., 145.21; Patricia Katz of Pittsburgh (separate households?), 121.85; Asim Ulke of Monroeville, Pa., 117 even; Barbara Belardi of Pittsburgh, 115.13; and David Millward, 113.21.

     Other Unit 116 players in the Top 25 are Liz Clark, 109.02, up from 19 th to 13 th; Allen Beroza, 14th with 107.72; Barbara Libby, 105.50, up from 20th to 16th;  Mike Silverman, 17th with 101.52; Mike Ryan, 98.06, up from 23rd to 18th; and Martin Pieterse, 23rd with 92.12.  

    Now for the District 5 Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters. 

    Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., has increased his lead over Unit 116’s David Heussler. Ahead by 17 points a month ago, now he leads 303.65 to 236.83.  They’re eighth and 11th overall in the district.

     The other leaders include: Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, 215.38 (15th overall); Ken Meier, 143.11 (47th); Leroy Hackenberg of Pittsburgh, 140.16  (50th); our David Millward, 139.55 (51st); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 135.87 (55th); our Allen Beroza, 127.88 (up from 11 th to eighth and up from 82nd to 67th overall); Barbara Greenpsan of Beachwood, Ohio, 117.83 (down from 64th to 83rd); Wayne Heritage of North Olmsted, Ohio, 116.69; (87th); and Mike Silverman, 111.96 (89th). I’m up two notches to 13th among Rubies with my 103.72, and up from 107th overall to 101st.

   Mini-McKenney leader among all District 5 players is, of course, Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, who added almost 60 points in July to reach 592.71. Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, with a 175-point month, leaps from 11th to second with 392.79.

     Dropping one place to third and fourth, respectively, are Kathleen Sulgrove and Don Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, with no points at all in July. They’re still at 356.12 and 323.69.

     Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, is next with 320.31, followed by Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, with 304.44.

Then it’s Stephanie Alexander of Mentor, 304.03; Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., with 303.65; Buffalo’s Alan Greer with 300.82 and Asim Ulke of Monroeville, Pa., with 239.12. Our Davis Heussler is next with 236.83.

    Ace of Clubs, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

    Paul Hassett of The Villages, Fla., keeps ahead of Anna Maxcine Thacker of Palm Coast, Fla., 216.66 to 205.73. Joanne Matchette of Vero Beach, Fla., moves up from sixth to third with 204 even. Richard Seidman of Orlando, Fla., remains fourth with 190.86. 

Then it’s Brian Breckenridge of Corvallis, Ore., 175.88; Jonathan Williams of The Villages, Fla., 174.49; April's leader, Russ Pearly, also of The Villages, drops from third to seventh with 173.57; Barry Nish of Little Neck, L.I., 172.75; Mason Barge of Atlanta, 172.05; and Jim Loffree of Naples, Fla., 167.20.

     Unit 116 leader David Millward is down from 70th to 84th. Allen Beroza is up from 190th to 109th. Other local notables include Mike Silverman, up from 208th to 157th; Martin Pieterse, up from 343rd to 239th. I’m up to 356th from 448th. Last Buffalo player is Ken Meier, up to 408th from 469th. The list cuts off at 77.27.

Ace of Clubs, all players, nationwide. 

Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta is still on top with 452.77. New in second place is Irva Neyhart of Corvallis, Ore., with 339.90, up from sixth place with a 74.05-point month. She displaces Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who drops to third with 335.24. Then it’s Robert Epstein of Atlanta, who has 307.02.

     Then it’s Kay Schulle of Purchase, N.Y., 305.81; Sheila Gabay of Newton, Mass., 300.37; Neil Silverman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 291.31; Tania Reyes Hiller of Bedford Corners, N.Y., 290.83; and tied for ninth, Diane Hurt and Edgar Hurt Jr., both of Laguna Woods., Calif., both with 284.20.

         Alan Greer is up from 28th to 20th; Nancy Wolstoncroft is up from 218th to 170th. John Ziemer is up from 424th to 257th. The list stops at 133.35.

    Onward to Mini-McKenney, Ruby Life Masters, nationwide.

Way, way, way out front is Robert L. McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., who enjoyed another triple-digit point month to reach 1,148.41. He continues to more than double Mary Ose of Sacramento, Calif, a very distant second with 500.51. Alex Khrakovsky of Columbus, Ohio, is still third with 497.17.

       Sabrina Miles of Mansfield, Mass., remains fourth with 463.91. Darryl Legassie of Milton, N.H., is still fifth with 453.80.

     Then it’s Mason Barge of Atlanta, 336.04; Junko Hemus of San Clemente, Calif., 328.57; Kim Brinkman of Highland Village, Texas, 305.77; District 5’s Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., with 303.65; Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., 303.10; James Walter of Ann Arbor, Mich., 302.83; and Joanne Matchette of Vero Beach, Fla., with 302.76.

Unit 116’s Davis Heussler, is 44th with his 236.83. David Millward drops from 292nd to 334th. Ken Meier is 301st. Allen Beroza joins the list in 451st place. The list ends at 123.08.

     And now for the really heavy hitters, the Mini-McKenney leaders overall.

     A month ago there were 12 players in four figures. Now there are 15.

     Joe Grue of New York City sits on top for the sixth straight month with 1,998.73. Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., continues second with 1,837.74. .

Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla., once again trades places with Brad Mass of Denver, moving from fourth to third with 1,667.12 to Mass’s 1,612.07.

     Hall of Famer Eric Rodwell of Clearwater, Fla., slips from fifth to seventh with 1,245.90, while longtime collaborator Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., holds steady in sixth with 1,313.14. New resident of fifth place was seventh a month ago. That’s Shan Huang from Melbourne, Fla., with 1,407.11.

John Hurd of New York City continues eighth with 1,219.56; January leader Geoff Hampson of Las Vegas, maintains ninth with 1,173.91; and Ruby Life Master leader Robert L. McClendon of Ponte Vedra, Fla., rounds out the Top 10 with 1,148.41.

     Familiar names: Former Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge advances from 24th to 16th with a 166-point month, reaching 986.56. District 5 leader Sue Lan Ma is 74th with 592.71 even.

Unit 116 now is represented on this list by Alan Greer, whose 300.82 points place him at No. 419. The list cuts off at 281.11.