Greater
St. Louis Bridge NewsGreater
St. Louis Bridge NewsEditor:
Mary Dolan, 10806 Charlton Way, St. Louis, 63146
dolanmary@sbcglobal.net
“Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”
-- Vince Lombardi
Treat yourself to a winter break at the St. Louis Sectional, January 17-19 at Blanchette Park in St. Charles. It may be cold outside, but this event will keep you warm with delicious food, knowledgeable guest speakers and friendly competition.
Note that on Saturday morning (9 a.m.), a one-session Swiss replaces the Saturday knockouts. This Saturday Swiss was well received at the Fall Sectional. See ACBL website for events schedule or click here for more details.
New Life Masters
Patricia Berger
Mark Ziegelman
New Bronze Life Masters
Thomas Becvar
Susan Kilo
New Silver Life Master
Betty Crowder
Jack
Bryant Receives Lifetime Achievement Award While the St. Louis Baseball Cardinals were competing for the National League Championship, bridge players were competing for masterpoints at Unit 143’s October Sectional in St. Charles.
At the tournament, Unit 143 presented its first Lifetime Achievement Award to unit member Jack Bryant. With Jack’s wife and daughter present for the ceremony, Unit 143 President Debbie Romero presented a plaque to Jack before the start of the Sunday Swiss Team event. The following is from Debbie Romero’s presentation:
Today is a very special day for Unit 143 as we honor Jack Bryant with our first time ever Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes outstanding long-term service to Unit 143 and exceptional individual bridge achievement. Jack Bryant fits the bill on both of these counts.
Jack has served Unit 143 for 23 years – 12 years on the board and 11 years in supporting roles. He has been President, Secretary/Treasurer, and Corresponding Secretary.
Jack has achieved great success in the bridge arena. He’s earned more than 18,000 masterpoints – more than any other St. Louis player to date. He’s ranked 126 in the ACBL Top 500 list of masterpoint holders. He’s made it to the Barry Crane Top 500 27 times, finishing as high as 115. Jack has won the Unit Mini McKinney for his bracket 14 times and the Unit 143 Player of the Year 5 times.
In tournament competition, Jack came in 3rd place in 1997 in the North American Pairs and 14th place in the 2010 World IMP pairs. He has also taken 1st place in 107 regional events.
Jack has not let his success go to his head. He is approachable, professional, and courteous at the table to his partners and his opponents. He is a great resource for bridge questions and information. Jack exemplifies that rare combination of an unselfish volunteer spirit combined with a strong individual competitor.
For all these reasons, Unit 143 is proud and honored to present the first Unit 143 Lifetime Achievement Award to Jack Bryant.
And the icing on the cake, Jack Bryant’s team -- composed of Jack, Nate Ward, Nancy Popkin, Tod Moses, and Milt Zlatic -- won the Sunday Swiss Team Event. See winners’ photo in lower right of collage.
And there were many other winners in the October sectional. 1429.79 masterpoints were earned by 413 players at 349 tables. Here are the top 25:
1. 34.71 Nate Ward, Champaign IL
2. 33.55 Nancy Popkin, St. Louis
3. 24.18 En Xie, St. Louis
4. 23.04 Linda Eakes, Leawood KS
5. 23.04 Don Stack, Overland Park KS
6. 22.60 Jack Bryant, St. Louis
7. 21.88 Mark Boswell, Chesterfield
8. 20.55 Roger Lord, St. Louis
9. 20.55 Jacqueline Sincoff, St. Louis
10. 20.15 Debra Romero, Clarkson Valley
11. 19.66 Milton Zlatic, St. Louis
12. 19.25 Tom Oppenheimer, Ballwin
13. 17.95 Tod Moses, St Louis
14. 17.34 Clay Cuthbertson, Quincy IL
15. 14.28 Rod Beery, St Peters
16. 12.98 Arbha Vongsvivut, Godfrey IL
17. 12.87 Karen Erlanger, St. Louis
18. 12.87 John Burgener, St Louis
19. 12.56 Nell Schneider, St Louis
20. 12.56 Carol Schaffer, St. Louis
21. 12.37 Randy Baker, St Louis
22. 11.82 Susan Perez, Maryland Hts
23. 11.82 John Samsel, Chesterfield
24. 11.54 Will Engel, Freeport IL
25. 11.54 John Seng, Champaign IL