1st Thomas Reinke topped a field of players where nobody went undefeated by going 4-1 +414. That outcome seemed somewhat unlikely after his first game, which was a loss to Bryan Benwitz, 415-443. Thomas did have a triple-triple of PALLIEST for 140, but even that huge play, combined with TANAGERS for 61, was not enough to topple the high-scoring Bryaniac, who had bingos of NIGHTIE and GNASHES. After that initial setback, a streak of four straight wins propelled Thomas back to the top of the weekly standings. In round two, Thomas took down James Frankki in a close game, 410-399, despite getting outbingoed two to one (RIDDLING vs. TANNERS and ENTIRES). Thomas began to pick up steam in round three, playing two players at once and soundly defeating both: 478-361 versus Michael David (playing NOTEDLY, NOVATES, and MARRIAGE) and 480-286 versus Mary Becker (playing power-tile bingos JIVIEST and SURTAXES). In the final round, Thomas found himself sitting across from a mirror image of himself in Charles Reinke, and overcame daunting existential quandaries to prevail, 494-374.

2nd Barb Pratzel made a return to the top three with a 3-1 +278 record. Like Thomas, Barb's only loss came in the first round, 371-378 against Michael David. She went up against Charles Reinke in the next game, and came away with her first-ever (but certainly not last-ever) win against a Reinke, 394-380. Her two bingos of GASEOUS and VESTING, plus an unplayable Q for Charles at the end, ensured her victory. Her biggest win (and, as of now, highest score ever at our club) came against the returning Carl Skalitzky in round three. The final score was 470-238, and her 89-point bingo of GLITTERY definitely helped in achieving that large score. The mini winning streak continued into round four, where Barb took down Bryan Benwitz 378-339. Bryan was held bingoless, while Barb got EXISTED and IRONIES. Moral of the story: stop Bryan from bingoing if you want to beat him.

3rd Charles Reinke lost to the two players who finished above him in the standings, but still snagged third place with a 3-2 +328 record. An opening-round matchup against James Frankki ended strongly in Charles' favor, as he won 503-386. James snagged the high A play with POSTMAN for 91, so the four-dollar prize helped to soothe the sting of having to watch Charles play three bingos: DEPRIVAL, CORONAL, and DETINUE. Round two saw Charles embroiled in a two-on-one match, which he split. The loss was to Barb Pratzel, 380-394 (playing HABITED as his only bingo), and the win was against Helen Flores, 470-319 (playing TANKERS and NETIZENS). Charles came back strong after the less-than-ideal result in the previous round by crushing Bryan Benwitz, 535-341. Bryan had the high-probability STEARINS as his only bingo, while Charles had four of them: FERRIES, SNORTED, CALQUES, and PLIGHTER. The embarrassing overabundance of bingos in that game resulted in a drought of them in the next, as Charles lost to his brother Thomas 374-494 without bingoing a single time.

Experts
Thomas Reinke4-1 +414
Barb Pratzel3-1 +278
Charles Reinke3-2 +328
Bryan Benwitz2-2 +20
Helen Flores2-2 -110
Michael David2-2 -196
Mary Becker1-2 -169
James Frankki1-3 -148
Carl Skalitzky0-3 -417
Intermediates

 
NameWin% W   L  T  Avg  Opp Avg Bingos  Avg Phonies % v2
Experts
Thomas Reinke751545114463724762.31112.320
Charles Reinke74.11585514433754622.1651.125
Aaron Bader61.8684204454192432.215422.22
Bryan Benwitz61.51127004213793241.7872.21
Lynda Finn52.918161395385521.4911.95
Andy Bohnsack5022040238661.5000
Richard Lauder48.7384003763961321.694311
David Kinzer40.216241349381220.5414.50
Mary Becker38.341660352393610.5711.67
Dennis Lloyd36.923402373406801.23911.38
Mark Kenas35.7407204164452302.054419.10
Helen Flores35.15710613483991330.81861
Intermediates
Sue Goldstein18.217781309370240.2528.30

Bingos
Thomas Reinke11TANAGERS PALLIEST RIDDLING NOTEDLY NOVATES MARRIAGE JIVIEST SURTAXES ENSNARER DUNGEONS
CROUTON
Charles Reinke10DEPRIVAL CORONAL DETINUE HABITED TANKERS NETIZENS FERRIES SNORTED CALQUES PLIGHTER
Barb Pratzel5VESTING GASEOUS GLITTERY EXISTED IRONIES
Bryan Benwitz5GNASHES NIGHTIE MORTARED ENCOMIUM STEARINS
James Frankki5POSTMAN TANNERS ENTIRES PERSONA BARRIERS
Helen Flores4PURITANS SPOTTED GUESSING PERSONA
Michael David4RESTRICT OBTAINER AGISTED PEANUTS
Mary Becker1RELAXED
8-Jan: Scrabble at Covenant Church15-Jan: Scrabble at Misty Mountain Games22-Jan: Scrabble at Covenant Church29-Jan: Scrabble at Covenant Church