Aaron Bader's Fast Start Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

1st Aaron Bader averaged an impressive 478 points per game, going a perfect 3-0 +432 in his second visit to our club.  All of his games featured margins over a hundred points, so none of them could be considered "close", but the closest one was a 464-342 victory over Dave Gilligan.  Dave got down MESSILY; Aaron played ANODIZES and TESTING.  The 500-point theshhold proved elusive as Aaron scored 499 (to Lynda Finn's 328) for his most dominating win of the evening.  Aaron pulled out a trio of high-scoring bingos (NEIGHBOR, LACQUER, and REBODIES), easily overwhelming Lynda's lone bingo of EINKORNS.  As some consolation to Lynda, she did get $4 for the high K word.

2nd Thomas Reinke continued the slow slog to close the winning-percentage gap against his brother, finishing 3-1 +177.  This quest was aided by beating that same brother by a thin margin of 404-398.  His only bingo was CONGEST, countered by Charles' UNLEARNT and DIELDRIN (n. an insecticide).  The bingo faucet flowed more freely against Dave Gilligan, who bore witness to four bingos from his opponent: WRITERS, TOREADOR, OVERBOIL, and BEADING.  This bingo onslaught resulted in a 548-327 final score.  However, Thomas' most noteworthy bingo accomplishment came in his 432-384 win versus Richard Lauder: the ten letter REEXPELLED, played to the already-on-the-board LED! 

3rd Peter Schmiedicke also went 3-1, with his spread of +167 leaving him only ten points out of second place.  His highest-scoring game came against Jordan Parker, 467-282.  Peter monopolized the bingo situation on that board, holding Jordan bingoless while playing three of his own: LUCERNE (another term for alfalfa), RATLINS, and STONIER.  Peter then presented Thomas Reinke with his only loss, winning that one by almost a hundred, 443-345.  Sadly, a perfect record was not to be, as Aaron Bader proved to be too much to handle, prevailing 472-333 in a game where Peter was held to just one bingo of OUTRIDES.

Sue Goldstein Shows No Hospitality

1st Sue Goldstein's 2-1 record was good enough to secure first place despite her spread of -17.  She defeated visiting out-of-towner Gail Gibson 358-343 to set her high-water mark.  June Scott brought her back down to earth with a 306-272 victory in which June played the bingo SORTIES (v. SORTIE, to attack suddenly from a defensive position).

2nd Connie Pearson went 2-2 -125, a strong performance for her first-ever outing at our club.  Along the way she defeated expert Mary Becker 377-351 despite Mary's bingo of INDITERS.  Things were looking great until the final game, when Michael David taught her a lesson in Scrabblenomics, the final score a lopsided 497-292.