Stats for December 13, 2023
1st Bryan Benwitz continued his run towards the club championship with a sparkling 4-0 +261 record. Interestingly, Bryan scored 400 of his games while all of his opponents were held below the mystical 400-point barrier. He began by handing Dave Kinzer his only loss, 419-361, with bingos of REMITTED and PAINCHES (Dave had UNLOADED). Next, he dueled against John Bialek; each player bingoed exactly one time (John's PLUNGES vs. Bryan's DEIFIES) and it ended up being Bryan's win, 409-350. Relishing the chance to spoil other players' chances at a perfect night, Bryan prevailed over the otherwise-undefeated Beth Amos, 412-339, despite getting outbingoed (a sole ESPARTOS for Bryan; CORNERED and DESTINE for Beth). The final round saw Bryan defeat his primary foe, Thomas Reinke, 440-369, this time getting three bingos: AVIATOR, STENTOR, and the phony CABESTRA*. CABRESTA, CABRESTO, and CABESTRO are all valid words, so it's easy to see how Bryan slipped up on that one.
2nd Beth Amos finished 3-1, with her +160 spread putting her slightly ahead of the third-place finisher. Fresh off yet another successfully published novel, Beth reached deep into her bag of creativity and pulled out the phony BAGLESS* in a 443-392 win over Charles Reinke, who played LEGATINE, RENATURE, and a nine-letter TREENAILS. Beth restrained herself in the following games, playing only valid words, including ENTICED and PUNIEST against Lynda Finn in a 395-357 triumph. The aforementioned loss against Bryan Benwitz was the only blemish on her scorecard, but she shook off the loss and walloped Dennis Lloyd in the final game, 428-284. It was only fair considering that their most recent encounter was a severe walloping in the other direction. Beth's bingos in that one were LISTERS, REHANGED, and TAUNTING.
3rd Sara McLaughlin reversed last week's 1-3 record to go 3-1 this week with a +106 spread. She got off to a rocky start when John Bialek defeated her 367-333 in the first round, but the next three games saw her turn back any who were foolish enough to challenge her dominance. Against Helen Flores, Sara won 385-329, thanks to a find of BOONIES. Perhaps as some misguided form of revenge for what happened in round one, Sara beat Wendy Bialek in round three, 368-315, adding SONNETS to her list of bingos. Against Lynda Finn in round four, Sara countered her opponent's EJECTOR with her own find of MEALIEST, and was victorious 388-357.
| Avg. Game Score | 380 |
| Avg. Intermediate Score | 0 |
| Avg. Expert Score | 380 |
| Avg. Winning Score | 415 |
| Avg. Losing Score | 345 |
| Avg. Bingo Score | 74 |
