Sunday, February 7, 2021

Bridge Blog 1137: January -- It's a start


New year, new lineup in the ACBL Master Point Races. OMG, the Weltes are now Gold Life Masters, but at the rate they accumulate points, they won’t be stopping at Gold for long. They brought home nearly 100 points in the first month of the year. Me? I got about 7% of what they got.  

Ace of Clubs (club play only). Unit 116 (Buffalo only). Gold Life Masters (2,500 to 3,500 points).

Welcome, John and Martha Welte, although you’re really in a class by yourselves. You start the year with 95.15 points. You’re also first overall among all players in the unit.

Third among the Goldies and fourth in the unit is Allen Beroza, off to a fast start with 28.59. Last year’s Gold winner, Ken Meier, is next with 21.66, which lands him at ninth in the unit.

After that, it’s Bill Rushmore in fifth place with 7.27, #30 overall in the unit. I’m sixth with 6.61, good for #35 overall. Fred Yellen is next with 5.40, #40 overall. Davis Heussler is eighth with 4.10, #51 overall. And at the bottom of the list again is Pat Rasmus. Playing only face-to-face in East Aurora, she won 0.84 of a point in January. She’s #121 in the unit.

Ace of Clubs. Unit 116. All players.

Twenty-one players are in double figures for the first month. Here they are:

John and Martha Welte, tied at 95.15. Barbara Libby, 33.61. Allen Beroza, 28.59. Sandi England, 26.33. Vic Bersten, 26.05. Martha Townson, 24.13. Judi Marshall, 22.34. Ken Meier, 21.66. Jim Lanzo, 20.99.

The teens begin at #11 with Sharon Benz, 18.53. Amita Arora, 18.01. Brian Meyer, 16.71. Gay Simpson, 14.96. Bonnie Clement, 14.55. Judy Padgug, 13.59. Larry Himelein and Bob Sommerstein, tied at 12.67. Jim Easton and Marilyn Wortzman, tied at 12.34. And at #21, Bud Seidenberg, 10.77. 

Mini-McKenney (All points in clubs and tournaments). Unit 116. Gold Life Masters.

Same as Ace of Clubs.

Mini-McKenney. Unit 116. All players.

Same as Ace of Clubs.

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

Yes, the Weltes. First here with 95.15. First overall in the District, too. Allen Beroza is fourth with 28.59 and #14 among all District players. Ken Meier sits sixth with 21.66 and #32 overall.

In between, we have Monica Early of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, in third place with 33.35 (#5 overall); David Norris of Rocky River, Ohio, is fifth with 25.25 (#20 overall). Seventh is Peter Merker of Mentor, Ohio, with 13.35 (#79). Doug Snyder of Shaker Heights, Ohio, is eighth with 12.39 (#84). Sitting ninth is Carolyn Sullivan of Richfield, Ohio, with 12.01 (#91) . And top Pennsylvanian is Jack Hawthorne of Valencia, about 20 miles north of Pittsburgh, in tenth place with 11.16 (#98).  

Where are the rest of us Buffalonians? Bill Rushmore, 7.27 is #13 (#180 overall). I’m #16 with 6.61 (#203 overall). Fred Yellen is #18 with 5.40 (#260 overall). And Davis Heussler is #21 with 4.10 (#326 overall).

Ace of Clubs. District 5. All players.

Way, way, way behind the Weltes is Davis Bonner of Mentor, Ohio, with 36.75. Then another Buffalonian, Barbara Libby with 33.61, followed by Monica and Richard Early, both of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, tied for fifth with 33.35.

Seventh is Celine O’Neill of Sewickley, Pa., with 32.28. Bruce Cahoon of Silver Lake, Ohio, is eighth with 32.16. Good old Reanette Frobouck of Pittsburgh is ninth with 32.06. Holding tenth is Gary Cole of Norwalk, Ohio, with 31.46.

Buffalonians in the teens include Allen Beroza at #14 with 28.59; Sandi England at #17 with 26.33; and Vic Bergsten at #18 with 26.05. Bubbling under are Martha Townson at #23 with 24.13; Judi Marshall at #30 with 22.24; Ken Meier at #32 with 21.66; and Jim Lanzo at #34 with 20.99.

 Mini-McKenney. District 5. Gold Life Masters.

Same as Ace of Clubs.

Mini-McKenney. District 5. All players.

Same as Ace of Clubs.

Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. Gold Life Masters.

Believe it or not, there’s somebody out there who got more points from club play in January than Buffalonians John and Martha Welte. His name is Piotr Olszewski and he lives in Hackettstown, a town of fewer than 10,000 souls not far off I-80 in the northwestern corner of New Jersey. It’s notable for having the U.S. headquarters of the Mars Wrigley Confectionary Co. Did you know they also make Altoids and Life Savers? I didn’t either.

Anyway. Mr. Olszewski amassed an amazing 117.84 points in January, outdistancing the Weltes by 20+ points. They have 95.15.

Nipping at their heels is a player whose name is new to me – Jane Patton of Brevard, N.C. She earned 94.76. Then comes that Yacob (Jacob) Rubinstien guy from Holland, Pa. He’s got 85.88.

Tied for sixth are Irene and Anthony Toogood of Qualicum Beach, a town on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. They have 78.29. Rounding out the Top 10 are Jim Loffree of Naples, Fla., 68.19; Stephen Donahue of Riverwoods, Ill., 67.22; and Peter Bouyea of Estero, Fla., 64.84.

Just missing the top tier are Paul Burleson of Cross River, N.Y., which is a hamlet in northmost Westchester County, 64.77; Judy Hansen of Eagan, Minn., 63.77; and Anil Altindag of Ankara, Turkey, 53.72.

Allen Beroza in #110 with 28.59. Ken Meier is #218 with 21.66. And that’s it for us Buffalonians. The list of 500 cuts off at 14.05.

 Ace of Clubs. Nationwide. All players.

Believe it or not, a couple people collected even more points in January than Gold Life Master leader Piotr Olszewski’s 117.84. Ruling the roost is Judy Rothstein of Livingston, N.J., with 145.48. Second is David Rosenblatt from Palmetto Bay, Fla., with 119.92.

In all, there are 11 players in triple figures in the first month of the year. The rest of them are Milton Neher of Richardson, Texas, 114.63; Stephen Cooper of Belle Mead, N.J., 112.38; Mark Itabashi of Murrieta, Calif., 106.50; Irva Neyhart of Portland, Ore., 105.52; Sundaresan Ram of Tucson, Ariz., 104.50; Tom Rutledge of Charleston, S.C., 102.28; Mel Norton of Burlington, Ont., 101.63; and Peter Boyd-Bowman of Greensboro, N.C., 101.22.

Tied for #12 are Buffalo’s leaders, John and Martha Welte, with 95.15. The list ends at 36.06, which shuts out the other Buffalonians. Also missing is expatriate Buffalonian Joel Wooldridge. 

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. Gold Life Masters.

Same as Ace of Clubs.

Mini-McKenney. Nationwide. All players.

Same as Ace of Clubs.


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