Thomas Reinke Is Not To Be Messed With

1st Thomas Reinke made quick work of his opposition, winning each game by over 100 points on his way to a perfect 4-0 +588 record.  An average game score of 467 effortlessly eclipsed that of all others present.  Thomas hit the ground running with a 519-364 victory over Susan Vergeront, holding his opponent to a lone bingo of INTEREST while himself playing three: COARSEN, OUTBULGE, and ELAPINE.  Another three-bingo effort was in store for Andy Bohnsack, who was probably wishing to be anywhere else but that Sunday School room as Thomas laid down the smack, 526-334.  DARTLES was Andy's contribution to the bingo pool; Thomas had UTENSIL, MARTINIS, and PEONAGES (n. PEONAGE, the condition of being a peon).

2nd Charles Reinke pummeled opponents not with his fists, but instead with the power of his word knowledge, ending the night at 3-1 +442.  Barb Besadny took the most punches from that word knowledge, with Charles playing four bingos (AUREOLAE, BRAINIER, INTRIGUE, and EDITION) en route to a 556-260 rout.  Andy Bohnsack was the one person who managed to interrupt Charles' winning ways, the two word warriors dueling to a high-scoring 469-450 final.  Charles played OVERTIPS and NIGELLA, but Andy one-upped him with DECEASE, TANGRAM, and SUSPENDS, the last one for a juicy 92 points.

3rd Bryan Benwitz finished with a 3-1 +284 record to land in the coveted top-three.  He defeated fellow up-and-comer Peter Schmiedicke 422-335 in a game that featured less bingoing than would be expected: Peter got GRANTORS to Bryan's TOWARDS.  Uncountable riches awaited Bryan when he played the triple-triple ALIENATE for 131 points, part of a 508-358 over Andy Bohnsack (boy, that guy gets mentioned a lot, doesn't he?  I want some kickbacks).  Bryan's single defeat came at the wrathful hands of Betty Hasselkus, 369-361.  Betty's FOLDERS for 91 proved to be just enough to overcome Bryan's RENEGADO (60) and COMBINE (81).

Bonus 4th paragraph: Mary Becker was 3-0 going into the last game, an impressive feat that earned her a matchup against the fearsome Thomas Reinke.  That game didn't quite go the way she wanted, but she still finished at 3-1 +136.

Mark Kenas played the word of the week, PROGNOSE, meaning "a smelling organ who is a fan of progressive rock".

Sue Goldstein Triumphs Again

1st Sue Goldstein went 2-2 -32.  She took down both members of the Miura duo, Aki 339-263 and Sharlie 303-293.  However, she lost a fair amount of spread when she faced Gail Salm and lost 394-301.

2nd Sharlie Miura split her two games for a 1-1 +21 record.  Her win came against June Scott 279-248; sympathy cringes are in order.