Bridge Blog 1079: Catching Up with March's March of Time

Lest we let the third month of the year slip away entirely, let’s review the Master Point races on the ACBL website.

For me, worst month of the year so far (though April is looking even more dismal). Just 9 points even, all earned in club play, raising my totals to 29.70 in the Ace of Clubs race (club play only) and 30.48 Mini-McKenney (all points earned everywhere.)

In the Ace of Clubs race, I’ve fallen from third to fifth among Ruby Life Masters (1,500 to 2,500 points) in Unit 116 (Buffalo only) and dropped from 17th to 20th among all players in the Unit.

Amazingly, on the District 5 level, which includes Cleveland, Pittsburgh and points in between, I’m still eighth among Rubies in the Ace of Clubs, but fell from 46th to 52nd overall.

As for the Mini-McKenney, in Unit 116, I’m down to seventh from sixth among the Rubies and down to 36th from 33rd in the Unit.

On the District 5 level, I’m now 28th among the Rubies and 180th overall. February saw me sitting 21st among the Rubies and 158th overall.

Here are the leaderboards:

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

Last month’s leader, Linda Burroughsford, more than doubled her total. A 28.08-point month gave her a total of 51.56. January’s leader, Martin Pieterse, is still second, gaining 18.40 points to reach 39.97.  They’re fourth and sixth overall in the Unit. Last month they were 12th and 15th overall.

The rest of the Top 10: Davis Heussler, 32.58 (15th overall); John Sinclair, 31.35 (16th); me, 29.70 (20th); Gene Finton in Florida, 29.22 (23rd); Dorothy May, 28.59 (24th); Fred Yellen, 23.28 (34th); Ken Meier, 22.23 (36th); and snowbird Pinky Regan, 21.16 (40th).

Ace of Clubs. Unit 116. All players.

Continuing way ahead is Alan Greer, adding 34.55 points in March for a total of 93.11. Nancy Wolstoncroft is still second, thanks to a 17.72-point month that brought her to 55.07.

Holding third again with a 17.73-point month is Gay Simpson, who has 52.48. Linda Burroughsford leaps to fourth with 51.56; followed by Chris Urbanek, 45.33; Martin Pieterse, 39.97; John and Martha Welte, both 39.83; Sharon Benz, 38.28; and Jay Levy, 38.23.

Mini-McKenney (all points earned everywhere). Unit 116. Ruby Life Masters.

Linda Burroughsford is on top here, too, adding 46.43 points to reach 98.21. Her frequent partner Davis Heussler stays second, adding 37.26 for a total of 84.43. They’re second and seventh overall among all Buffalo players. 

Martin Pieterse repossesses third place with 42.31 and is 20th overall. Then it’s John Sinclair, 40.42 (24th overall); Fred Yellen, 31.53 (33rd); Ken Meier, 31.34 (34th); moi, 30.48 (36th); Gene Finton, 29.22 (38th); Dorothy May, 28.59 (42nd); and Pinky Regan, 22.31 (55th).

Mini-McKenney. Unit 116. All players.

Glenn Milgrim’s big win in national competition shot him to the top with 171.17. Far behind is Linda Burroughford, 98.31; Alan Greer, 93.11; John and Martha Welte, both 88.06; Saleh Fetouh, 85.83; Davis Heussler, 84.43; Chris Urbanek, 82.67; Mike Ryan, 67.73; and Dian Petrov, 62.20.

Ace of Clubs. District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh). Ruby Life Masters. Buffalo’s Linda Burroughsford leaps from third place to the top here with 51.56, surpassing January/February leader W. Tordella of Bemus Point, who had a 17.91-point month to reach 48.13. They’re sixth and seventh among all District 5 players.

Martin Pieterse rebounds from fifth to third with 39.97 (ninth overall). Another Buffalonian, Davis Heussler, is fourth with 32.58 (39th overall). Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, returns to fifth place after spending a month in second, with 32.47 (41st overall).

Buffalo’s John Sinclair is sixth with 31.35 (43rd overall), followed by Chantal Whitney of Bratenahl, Ohio, 30.49 (47th); moi, 29.70 (continuing eighth, but falling from 46th to 52nd overall); last month’s #4, Garnet Depner of Jeannette, Pa., is ninth with 29.64 (53rd); and Buffalo snowbird Gene Finton is tenth with 29.22 (59th).

Ace of Clubs. District 5. All players.

Buffalonians hold seven of the Top 10 places. Alan Greer still reigns with 93.11, followed by perennial Pittsburgh champ Reanette Frobouck with 66.96 after a 19.10-point month.

Last month’s fifth place holder, D. Pierce of Parkersburg, W.Va., knocks Buffalo’s Nancy Wolstoncroft out of third place with 31.04-point month, which lifts D. to 63.43, while Nancy has 55.07. Another Buffalonian, Gay Simpson, slides from fourth to fifth with 52.48.

The rest of the Top Ten: Linda Burroughsford, 51.56; W. Tordella of Bemus Point, 48.13; then four more Buffalonians – Chris Urbanek, 45.33; Martin Pieterse, 39.97; and John and Martha Welte, tied for tenth with 39.83.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. Ruby Life Masters.

Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler still are one-two. Linda now has 98.21, Davis has 84.43. They’ve also moved up among all District 5 players. Linda’s risen to 16th from 28th and Davis advances to 24th from 33rd.

Annemarie Gordon of Sewickley, Pa., remains way back in third with 57.83 (she’s 46th overall). 

The rest of the Top 10: James Fox of Canonsburg, Pa., 50.67 (63rd overall); W. Tordella of Bemus Point, 48.85 (70th); Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio., 46.64 (75th); Philip MacFarlane of Cleveland, 44.30 (86th); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 43.16 (89th); Buffalo’s Martin Pieterse, 42.31 (97th); and Ami Elis of Pittsburgh, 41.68 (98th).

Next Unit 116 player on the list is John Sinclair in 11th place with his 40.42 points, which makes him 112th overall. I’m 28th, down from 21st, and 180th overall, down from 158th.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. All players.

Perennial leader Sue Lan Ma wasn’t on top in January. She was seventh. In February, she reclaimed her throne, thanks to 112.16-point month. This month she’s slipped to fourth place. Here’s the Top 10:

Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood, Ohio, 226.97; Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, 205.29; Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 202.60; Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, 198.59; Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh, 187.71; Buffalo’s Glenn Milgrim, 171.17; January’s leader Kenneth Kranyak of Parma, Ohio, 150 even; Fred Schenker of Pittsburgh, 131.78; Phillip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, 131.09; Frank Cymerman of Pittsburgh, 118.44; and just missing the Top 10, Fleur Howard of Gates Mills, Ohio, 115.34.

Next Unit 116 player to appear on this list is Linda Burroughsford, who’s 16th with her 98.21. Alan Greer is up to 18th from 23rd with 94.11, followed by John and Martha Welte, tied for 21st with 88.06; Saleh Fetouh, 86.83 (23rd); Davis Heussler, 84.43 (24th); and Chris Urbanek, 82.67 (26th).  

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Top 500 Ruby Life Masters.

Leaping onto the Top 10 list and landing first place is Jim Loffree of Naples, Fla., with 114.10. He displaces Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., who despite a 36.49-point month, fell back to second with 113.46.

Then it’s Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., 92.30; Michael Rosen of Freehold, N.J., 80.89; Christine Converse of Highland Beach, Fla., 80.18; Mason Barge of Atlanta, 77.23; Louis Vanos of Ocean Springs, Miss., 76.57; Mark Haberman of Boca Raton, Fla., 75.66; Carole Maeder of Bonita Springs, Fla., 73.48; and Larry Anfinson of Waterloo, Iowa, 72.92.

Unit 116’s Linda Burroughsford shot up to 73rd from last month's tie for 409th. Martin Pieterse is 241st. Davis Heussler is 475th. The list cuts off at 32.30.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

Neil Silverman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., stays on top with a 38.40-point month, bringing him to 148.55. 

January leader Barbara Sartorius of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., keeps pace in second with 137.28 following a 38.11-point month.

After that, it’s Martin Robins of Delray Beach, Fla., 132.60; Jack Borenstein of Dallas, 130.05; Francine Feldman of Boca Raton, Fla., 120.75; Michael Dalton of Palm Coast, Fla., 115.95; Irva Neyhart of Corvallis, Ore., 114.94; Marion Gebhardt of Richardson, Texas, 114.44; and Ruby Life Master leaders Jim Loffree, 114.10; and Russ Pearly, 113.46.

Unit 116 and District 5 leader Alan Greer is 49th, up from 82nd, and he’s the only Buffalo representative. The list cuts off at 55.28.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Top 500 Ruby Life Masters.

A month ago, there were 22 players here in triple digits. Now there are 67, with two reaching the double-century mark.

Thomas Rush of Houston is leader with 207.35, followed by Harrison Luba of Lynnfield, Mass., with 201.73; Murali Nair of Phoenix, 199.87; Ruby Life Master leader Russ Pearly, 198.78; and Matthew Weingarten of Safety Harbor, Fla., 194.65. 

February leader Newton Brightwell of Osprey, Fla., drops to seventh with 188.52, behind Arjun Dhir of Johns Creek, Ga., who has 192.99. 

January leader Christopher Smith of Vero Beach, Fla., drops from second to ninth with 187.37, just behind Kevin Castner of Mercer Island, Wash., with 187.44 and just ahead of Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., with 186.14.

Unit 116’s Linda Burroughsford jumps from 202nd to 73rd with her 98.21. Davis Heussler ascends from 267th to 110th with his 84.43.  The list stops at 52.21.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

The ten leaders have all reached the half millennium mark. Last month’s seventh-place guy, Curtis Cheek of Las Vegas, is now on top with 588.73, thanks to a 201.13-point month. Last month’s leader, Ron Smith of Chicago, returns to second after a mere 27.32-point month, reaching 579.12.

Then it’s January’s leader, Jacob Morgan of Madison, Wis., 567.88; Oren Kriegel of Chicago, 565.15; Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., 561.67; Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., 552.04; Joe Grue of New York City, 526.32; Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla., 525.45 (he was 37th a month ago); John Kranyak of Las Vegas, 510.25; and Kevin Bathurst of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 502.98.

District 5 leader Bernie Greenspan is 126th. Unit 116 leader Glenn Milgrim is tied for 281st.

After a 233.16-point month, Buffalo native Joel Wooldridge, who now plays out of Astoria, Queens, is up to 40th place from 260th with 346.89. The list stops at 131.13.