1st Bryan Benwitz regained his typical top spot in the weekly standings with a 3-1 +257 record, although his stats weren't as eye-popping as they usually are, with a "mere" 412 points-per-game average and "only" seven bingos. He faced a tough opponent in round one, but needed little time to warm up as he got the win over Thomas Reinke, 419-384, finding STOMATE and NEROLIS in the process. In round two, Andy Bohnsack discovered that if you prevent Bryan from bingoing so dang often, your chances of winning drastically go up; their contest ended 405-349 in Andy's favor, with Andy getting two bingos (TINGLED, GLIMPSE) to Bryan's one (RELOADER). The rest of the evening went quite smoothly for Bryan, as he made easy work of Lynda Finn, 439-317 (playing RAMOSELY and DUNITES), then made even easier work of Ron Malzer, 440-284 (playing TOASTIER and TAPERERS).

2nd Charles Reinke finished at 3-1 +34, a good enough record to keep him in first place on the yearly standings after two weeks (this writer will refrain from hoping for a premature end to the club season, as that feels dangerously like summoning another COVID). The source of Charles' small spread total was a somewhat disastrous first-round game against the capable (too capable) Mark Kenas; in the end, Charles was knocked flat by Mark's grand total of 592 points, compared to Charles' paltry 354. Mark played RARITIES, PENNERS, MUENSTER, and a 176-point 3x3 SLABBERY. For future reference, SLABBERY means "abounding in slabber (drool)", not "a place where slabs are made". Charles was a bit shellshocked going into round two but managed to secure the win against Sara McLaughlin, 369-343, finding DOTIEST against Sara's SANDERS. Sweet, sweet revenge was savored in round three as Charles got a win in a rematch against Mark Kenas, 469-445. He then finished his night by defeating Lynda Finn 552-330, thanks to bonus plays of OZONISER, NEGATING, and a low-probability nine-letter CABOCHONS.

3rd Thomas Reinke went 3-2 +159, finishing ahead of the other 3-2 player, Lynda Finn, on spread. Thomas had mixed success in round one as his two-on-one win over Ron Malzer, 460-385, was counteracted by his loss to Bryan Benwitz, 384-419. He then sunk further into the negatives with a tough 450-474 loss to Mark Kenas, where his ACEROLA and BASTIDE# fell short against Mark's VIRGULES and TENSING. In the third round, Thomas faced off against noted bingo fiend Andy Bohnsack, and while Andy did win the bingo battle (BOOTEES, LAMINATED, STEARIC vs. YESTERN, TARRIER), it was Thomas' win by a decently-sized margin, 481-406. Thomas concluded his evening of wordy warfare with another Mark Kenas rumble which he won 468-400, finding the nifty FROSTNIP in addition to the more prosaic PALTERED.

Many Word of the Week candidates were present in players' bingo lists, among them Mark's SLABBERY and MAGMATA, Thomas' FROSTNIP, and Lynda's SHOWGIRL, but Word of the Week went to Charles' CABOCHONS.

Experts
Bryan Benwitz3-1 +257
Charles Reinke3-1 +34
Thomas Reinke3-2 +159
Lynda Finn3-2 -53
Mark Kenas2-2 +170
Andy Bohnsack2-2 +8
Richard Lauder1-1 -90
Ron Malzer1-3 -250
Sara McLaughlin0-4 -235
Intermediates

 
NameWin% W   L  T  Avg  Opp Avg Bingos  Avg Phonies % v2
Experts
Thomas Reinke70.41526404493975092.365711.230
Charles Reinke671467204493985062.325310.527
Bryan Benwitz66.41256314363733892.0692.30
Andy Bohnsack61.6955914183863122.01103.211
Steve Hartsman56.3534114063881571.65106.43
Lynda Finn52.9746603893862011.444211
Randall 5011029737410.5000
Mary Parrish5022035340451.25000
Richard Lauder47.7727913783982401.58166.70
Dennis Lloyd45587103703971701.3274.16
James Rollins40.517250360383431.02370
Carol Ormand4010150320370160.64000
Mark Kenas39.1548404294512822.0462223
David Kinzer36.938650359388760.7445.30
Ron Malzer36.416280354414420.9524.80
Sara McLaughlin355610403563981300.8132.30
Chloe 33.312027839500000
Ed Nawrocki306140362383241.214.20
Helen Flores29.4409603494051150.8554.30
Kelsey Stanczak15.4211026139730.23000
Nalina Cherr9.1110026640230.27000
Dora Kilburn8.72210300390160.7000
Beth Amos004030939410.25000
Jordan Barger001031446211000
Lesley Salas004029639810.25000
Buffy Hogan004033542310.25000
Ryan Adams004032138900000
Kimberly 001026236600000
Jessica Pasch002029634700000
Alison Jennings003022032600000
Intermediates

Bingos
Mark Kenas10RARITIES PENNERS SLABBERY MUENSTER VIRGULES TENSING LAIRIEST MAGMATA SNAILING FISHLINE
Thomas Reinke9ARRIVAL PENALTY UPDRIES ACEROLA YESTERN TARRIER PALTERED FROSTNIP bastide
Charles Reinke8DISTILL DOTIEST PANNERS DISLIKED TENRECS OZONISER CABOCHONS NEGATING
Andy Bohnsack8BLOCKING TINGLED GLIMPSE BOOTEES LAMINATED STEARIC SECRETE RENAILED
Bryan Benwitz7STOMATE NEROLIS RELOADER RAMOSELY DUNITES TOASTIER TAPERERS
Lynda Finn5AIRIEST SHOWGIRL CLEANEST RATIONS GORIEST
Ron Malzer4DEFIERS TENTACLE DAILIES DELIMITS
Sara McLaughlin4UNIONIST SANDERS DECANTER SHEETED
Richard Lauder2RESEATS UNTANNED
31-Dec: NO SCRABBLE CLUB ON NEW YEARS EVE7-Jan: Scrabble at Covenant Church14-Jan: Scrabble at Covenant Church21-Jan: Scrabble at Misty Mountain Games