Bridge Blog 1094: June Fades Away (completely)

Ohmigod! It’s the end of July and I’ve almost missed the June review of the master point totals. Being sidelined by pneumonia for the last two weeks of the month didn’t help, but let’s get a look at the ACBL standings before they disappear.

At the year’s halfway point, my Ace of Clubs total was 65.70, up a measly 1.02 points from May. As for the Mini-McKenney total, all points earned everywhere, I had 72.89, an increase of 6.33, thanks to STaC Week. So how does that stack up against everyone else?  

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

Don’t know how, but I’m still in fourth place, just barely. Meanwhile, Martin Pieterse has taken first place by a nose (or perhaps a nose hair), outpacing David Millward. Here’s the list:

Martin Pieterse, 101.78 (#3 overall among all players in Unit 116); David Millward, 101.49 (#4 overall); Linda Burroughsford, 87.18 (#7); moi, 65.70 (#20, down from #11); Davis Heussler, 62.70 (#21); Fred Yellen, 58.63 (#23); Ken Meier, 57.75 (#25); Gene Finton, 57.59 (#26); John Sinclair, 53.18 (#31); and Dorothy May, 50.82 (#36).

Ace of Clubs. Unit 116. All players.

Alan Greer! 208.15! Up 32.20 points for the month. After that it’s Nancy Wolstoncroft, 119.81; Martin Pieterse, 101.78; David Millward, 101.49; John Welte, 98.86; Gay Simpson, 90.52; Linda Burroughsford, 87.18; Martha Welte, 86.35; John Ziemer, 82.02; and Mike Silverman, 78.70.

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

Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler are still the only ones who have passed the double-century mark. Linda leads with 250.53 and is first in the entire unit. Davis, who has 229.62, is third overall. The rest of the top 10: Ken Meier, 123.51 (#13 overall); Martin Pieterse, 114.54 (#15); David Millward, 114.28 (#16); Fred Yellen, 82.87 (#24); John Sinclair, 73.92 (#34); moi, 72.89 (#35, down from #28); Gene Finton, 66.48 (#38) and Dorothy May, 58.53 (#45).

Mini-McKenney. Unit 116. All players.

Same players in the Top 10, but one big move. At the end of May, Alan Greer sat fifth with 175.95 points. In June, thanks to a big STaC Week, he catapults to second with 234.62. Still on top is Linda Burroughsford with 250.53, while Davis Heussler slips to third with 229.62.

Then it’s John Welte, 221.18; Martha Welte, 208.67; Mike Ryan, 203.34; John Ziemer, 176.69; April leader Glenn Milgrim, 176.06; Chris Urbanek, 148.70; and Saleh Fetouh, 145.11.  

Ace of Clubs. District 5 (Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh). Ruby Life Masters. Buffalo players hold the top three spots, five of the top eight and nine of the Top 15.

Top three are Martin Pieterse, 101.78 (#5 among all players in the district); David Millward, 101.49 (#6); and Linda Burroughford, 87.18 (#13).

Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, sixth a month ago, moves ahead of me into fourth place with 71.02 (#32 overall). I’m fifth with 65.70 (#46, down from #22).   

Then it’s W. Tordella (full name William) of Bemus Point, 65.05 (#47); Kenneth Eichler of Murrysville, Pa., 63.80 (#48); Davis Heussler, 62.70 (#50); Marvin Shapiro of Akron, 60.54 (#57); and James Wheeler of Edinburg, Pa., 59.87 (#59).

After Barbara Schidlowski of Kent, Ohio, 58.79 (#63), it’s four Buffalonians, Fred Yellen, 58.63 (#64); Ken Meier, 57.75 (#68); Gene Finton, 57.59 (#69); and John Sinclair, 53.18 (#84).

Ace of Clubs. District 5. All players.

Buffalonians hold six of the Top 10 places, led by Alan Greer with 208.15. He’s followed by perennial Pittsburgh champ Reanette Frobouck, 140.81; Nancy Wolstoncroft, 119.81; Allen Selling of Erie, Pa., 103.79; Martin Pieterse, 101.78; David Millward, 101.49; John Welte, 98.86; Gay Simpson, 90.52; Constance Hoechstetter of Moon Township, Pa., 89.71; and Stephanie and Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, 88.01 and 87.43, respectively.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. Ruby Life Masters.

Linda Burroughsford and Davis Heussler continue one-two – Linda with 250.53; Davis with 229.62. But they didn’t move up among all District 5 players. Linda stood pat at #14. Davis slipped to #16 from #15.

The others on the leaderboard trail far behind: Doug Snyder of Shaker Heights, Ohio, 137.40 (#42); Judith Shapiro of Akron, Ohio, 126.94 (#55); Ken Meier, 123.51 (#60); Monica Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, 122.15 (#62); James Fox of Canonsburg, Pa., 121.22 (#63); Martin Pieterse, 114.54 (#72); David Millward, 114.28 (#73); and Marvin Shapiro of Akron, 113.13 (#74).

Mini-McKenney. District 5. All players.

Perennial leader Sue Lan Ma of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, and finally overtook another Ohioan, Bernie Greenspan of Beachwood, who added only 20 points. Here’s the Top 10:

Sue Lan Ma, 463.62; Bernie Greenspan, 433.82;  Kathleen Sulgrove of Twinsburg, Ohio, 336.93; Phillip Becker of Beachwood, Ohio, 331.37; Philip Goulding of Wexford, Pa., 327.84; Don Sulgrove of Twinsburg, 325.35; Craig Biddle of Pittsburgh, 313.87; and Stephanie and Robert Alexander of Mentor, Ohio, 313.14 and 312.56, respectively.
(and now, on Aug. 1, the rest ...) 

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

Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., is still on top, now with 234.58 points, but there’s been a shuffle among the runners-up behind him. Jim Loffree of Naples, Fla., leader in May, second in June, is now fourth following an 11.12-point month. He has 179.90.

Moving up are Mason Barge of Atlanta with 194.86 and Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., with 182.75. Sidney Pertuz of Dallas, a newcomer a month ago, remains fifth with 165.72.

More shuffling in the bottom half of the Top 10. Mark Haberman of Boca Raton, Fla., sixth a month ago, is now #10.

Meanwhile, Christopher Smith of Vera Beach, Fla., is now sixth with 156.59, heading a cluster that includes Bruce Ladin of Harwood Heights, Ill., 155.53; Eileen Boal of Albany, Ore., 152.16; and Christine Converse of Highland Beach, Fla., 150.34. Mark Haberman has 150.12.

Unit 116 leader Martin Pieterse, #78 a month ago, is in a tie at #69 with Victor Riva of Chapel Hill, N.C., with 101.78. David Millward is #72 with 101.49, down from #45 a month ago. Linda Burroughford is #146 with 87.18 and, miraculously, my 65.70 is still enough to keep me on the list, albeit just barely at #477, down from #282 at the end of June. The list stops at 65.02.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

What a month for Bill Kulbersh of Atlanta! 76.68 club points. That moves him up from second to first place among all club players in the country with 310.53.

Even more amazing is the rebound of April leader Neil Silverman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He had an 82.38 point month in the clubs and moves up from third to second with 306.78.

They end the two-month reign of Barbara Sartorius of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. After two straight 60-point months, she registered only 14.50 in June and now sits third with 276.44.

After that, it’s En Xie of St. Louis with 264.32; Francine Feldman of Boca Raton, Fla., with 247.75; David Hudson of The Villages, Fla., 246.24; Shiv Arora of Boca Raton, 239.48; Bella Ionis-Sorren of Fort Lauderdale, 238.19; Jack Borenstein of Dallas, 237.44; and Ruby leader Russ Pearly, 234.58, dropping from sixth to tenth.

, had her second straight 60-point month – 62.47, to be exact – to reach 260.94.

Unit 116 and District 5 leader Alan Greer is #19, up from #21. Nancy Wolstoncroft is #385, down from #378. And that’s it for Buffalonians. The list cuts off at 111.60.

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

A month ago, four players had reached the triple-century mark. Now it’s the whole Top 10.

Continuing in the lead is Thomas Rush of Houston with 388.72. New to the Top 10 is second-lace Harrison Luba of Lynnfield, Mass., with 357.83. Dolores Aquino of Houston remains third with 355.06.

Then it’s Jay Lucas of Little Rock, Ark., 351.01; Russ Pearly of The Villages, Fla., 350.94; Christopher Smith of Vero Beach, Fla., 339.26; Amy Casanova of Portland, Ore., dropping from second to seventh with 337.39; Bill Cook of Louisville, Ky., 310.60; Murali Nair of Phoenix, 306.68; and Arjun Dhir of John’s Creek, Ga., 303.20. 

Unit 116’s Linda Burroughsford slips from #20 a month ago to #21 with her 250.53. Davis Heussler drops from #24 to #33 with 229.62. Ken Meier is here at #305 with 123.51, up from #360. David Millward is down again, dropping from #273 to #402 with 114.28 after a five-point month. The list stops at 105 even.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Top 500 players.

The pack caught up with the legendary Jeff Meckstroth of Clearwater Beach, Fla. He turned in a mere 84.35-point month and fell to third place.

On top is Kevin Dwyer of Melbourne, Fla. Joe Grue of New York City slips into second place after a 219.38-point month. He now has 1,203.66. Then it’s Meckstroth with 1.174.57; Shan Huang of Melbourne, Fla., 1,174.35; John Hurd of New York City, 1,058.19; Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., 1,031.37; Geoff Hampson of Las Vegas, 1,013.05; Curtis Cheek, also of Las Vegas, 971.93; Jacob Morgan of Madison, Wis., 952.98; and Alex Hudson of Raleigh, N.C., 931.25.

 District 5 leader Sue Lan Ma is #82. Bernie Greenspan is #104. Unit 116 leader Linda Burroughsford, who joined the list at #452 in June, falls back to #492 with her 250.53. The list cuts off at 248.54.

P.S.: Buffalo native Joel Wooldridge, who now plays out of Astoria, Queens, had a 108.64-point month, moving up from #18 to #17 with 838.30.