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Thomas Reinke Crushes Opponents Like So Many Bugs

1st Thomas Reinke romped over the unfortunate few who were decreed to play him, ending the night 4-0 +642 and averaging 490 points per game.  Following up Chris Veregeront's 612-point game last week, Thomas Reinke unleashed a 600-point game of his own, scoring 606 to Dave Gilligan's 245.  DRAYMEN, AUTODYNE (n. a type of electrical circuit), and FRAULEIN were Thomas' valid bingos; however, the prestige of the 606-point game was tarnished by a phony of UTRICATE (URTICATE and UTRICLE are good).  Another rare feat was attained when Thomas played the nine-letter INSWATHED (as well as the more pedestrian WIRINESS) en route to a a 455-335 win over Peter Schmiedicke, who played NAILERS and AIGRETTE in his losing effort.

2nd Charles Reinke finished 3-1 +282 for second place in the expert group.  Most of his spread accumulated as a result of his 525-301 drubbing of Andy Bohnsack.  Andy, who averages well over two bingos per game, played none of his usual rack-clearing plays as he watched Charles play CLAMORER, OFTENEST, and REDDING (v. red, to put in order).  Charles' quest for an undefeated record came to a sad end as he lost to his brother, Thomas, 418-460 in the final game of the night.  Charles actually outbingoed his brother, playing SOAPIER, URETERAL, and BAMBINO (n. a baby) to Thomas' DIRECTOR and MUTATED, but a late-game misplay cost him the victory.

3rd Aaron Bader started off strong in his first visit to our club, going 3-1 +87.  Aaron is still shaking off the rust after a few-year hiatus, but as he was an expert-level player in the latter part of the last decade, we don't expect that rust to stick around for long.  An aspiring Collins (British dictionary) player, Aaron played a two-game series against veteran Collinser Mark Kenas and won both by scores of 488-362 and 405-400.  No Collins bingos were played (good thing too - they would have to be marked as phony!), but Aaron did get the odd-looking ORRERIES (in addition to the high-probably ALEURON) in his second game against Mark.  Only Gail Salm was able to best the newcomer, prevailing 454-381.  Aaron played SEMIRAW and OUTSETS, but was overcome by Gail's trifecta of DROPSIED, CLINGERS, and RENAILS.

Richard Lauder and Andy Bohnsack also had 3-1 records, but couldn't improve on the low bar set by Aaron's +87 cumulative.  Spread matters!  Never let up!  In bingo-of-the-week news, Peter Schmiedicke played JAROVIZE (v. to hasten the flowering of a plant) against a shell-shocked Lynda Finn.  Of eight-letter words containing a J and a Z, JAROVIZE is the most likely to appear, followed by AZULEJOS. 

Sue Goldstein Reels Off Perfect Night

1st Sue Goldstein went 4-0 +192, easily taking first place in the intermediate group, and has now won twelve of her last fifteen games.  In the category of "low-scoring wins", she defeated June Scott 269-265, and in the category of "ridiculous phonies" she played RETOOTED in the same game.  It's not any more ridiculous than OUTBLEAT, but still.  Sue also notched a 400-point game as she emerged victorious from a bout with expert Barb Besadny, 402-309.  This time, she only played valid bingos, getting down MANNERS and a nice find of SEXTONS.

Mark Kenas Banishes British Words From Head and Prevails

1st Mark Kenas, fresh from a successful trip to Chicago playing the Collins dictionary, ignored the extraneous words floating in his gray matter to finish 4-0 +213.  Beating Mary Becker 454-338 in the first game proved to be the highlight of Mark's evening as he bingoed with DEPONES and RENTIERS.  Some power-tile bingos were on the menu in Mark's close 397-390 win against Andy Bohnsack: Mark played ENZYMES and the more pedestrian TONNERS; Andy got CAJONES (n. CAJON, a canyon - only pluralizes with the -ES) and TAILSPIN.  Despite this win, Andy still has a slight lead on the lifetime series, nine wins to eight.

2nd Chris Vergeront bid us farewell as he begins a summer of Ultimate Frisbee playing, and sent himself off in style, finishing 3-1 +316.  It was a fairly average club session, all things considered, until the final game, where Chris dropped an incredible 612 points on spectator Betty Hasselkus, who scored 272.  This score of 612 is tied for second-highest score this year (after Charles Reinke's 629), and Chris' five bingos is also tied for the most played in a game by one player this year.  Those bingos were: AUBRETIA (n. a flowering plant, also AUBRIETA), MAILERS, ROTATIVE, DECISIVE, and DOMAINE.  Hopefully this game is not indicative of a trend, where, returning from his hiatus, Chris averages 600 a game while unhaltingly demolishing his opposition without remorse.

3rd Bryan Benwitz went 3-1 +265, winning his first three to attain an eight-game streak before falling to Mark Kenas 338-404.  A sole bingo of BLEEDERS simply failed to outmuscle Mark's PURLINE and ISOSPIN (n. a type of quantum number).  This sad loss was offset by Bryan's easy victory over Lynda Finn, 476-278, a lofty score which was reached with the help of only one bingo, STRAINED.  A somewhat closer game was played when Bryan was matched up with Thomas Reinke and prevailed 424-395, handing Thomas his only loss.  The bearded twin got down ENTRAIN and POSTMEN, while the bearded non-twin played ORPINES and a nice find of FRIJOLES (n. frijol, a type of bean, again only pluralizing -ES).

Sharlie Miura Smashes Her Yearly Average in Undefeated Night

1st Sharlie Miura averaged 388 points per game and played three bingos while going 2-0 +106.  The phony one of the bunch, SMOTING, was played straight-facedly against June Scott en route to a 377-316 victory.  Then, two valid bingos, SETTEES and CRUSTED, came down against Sue Goldstein.  Barely missing the 400-point mark, Sharlie scored 399 to Sue's 354.

2nd Sue Goldstein went 2-1 -3, playing the bingo DURATION in the one game she lost.  She triumphed in what must have been a very frustrating game, 292-267 against June Scott.

Bryan Benwitz Bends Wits

1st Bryan Benwitz did not face any major impediments to victory, finishing 4-0 +481 and averaging 437 points per game.  His closest game was 434-404 against Dave Gilligan; Bryan played CESTOID and OVULATES to Dave's FEMINIST and BRAIDING.  Two bingos, though, is nothing compared to the four he played in the course of defeating Mary Becker 493-356: LEMONADE, TOOTERS, SENARII, and the phony ENWRAPT.  ENWRAP and WRAPT are both good, so ENWRAPT is a logical combination of those two words.  So logical, in fact, that the same phony was played by Andy Bohnsack just a few months ago.

2nd Thomas Reinke went 3-1 +246, the best of four players who finished 3-1.  He defeated relative newbie Jordan Parker 470-292, playing AUDITEES, POODLES, and RENDERS for some timely 50-point bonuses.  He then got a victory against Andy Bohnsack, one of the few players who currently has a winning record against him.  The final score was 462-413, with Andy's 413 being the highest losing score of the night.  Thomas played TRIVETS, DUMBING (an appropriate word considering what he played next), and a phony CURATION; Andy played HURDIES and VERITIES.

3rd Peter Schmiedicke went 3-1 +178, pulling off the vaunted double-Reinke upset for two of his wins.  In the first game of the night, he stifled all of Charles' attempts at scoring, coming out triumphant 417-328, riding on the back of his three bingos: EPIGONES (n. EPIGONE, and inferior imitator), DREDGERS, and REIMAGES.  He later defeated Thomas Reinke in a somewhat closer contest, 441-377.  Again, three bingos were on order for Peter (MANGOES, SNORTED, and word-of-the-week LENTISKS), but he did not manage to hold the second Reinke bingoless as Thomas played ATONERS and CAVALIER.  Things were looking great for Peter until he had to face Bryan Benwitz in the final round; that game ended with a severely lopsided 243-406 score. 

Sue Goldstein Makes Easy Work of Opposition

1st Sue Goldstein finished a perfect 3-0 +233.  She did not average much more than usual, 337 per game, but her absolutely smothering board control resulted in her opponents averaging a piddling 260 per game.  Sue saved the best for last when she destroyed June Scott 368-257 in the third game of the night.