Tournament Director, Rich Clay and the staff of The Athletic Club of Bloomingdale kicked off the fall 2000 season in fine fashion. The Senior/Masters tournament with 2 games to 11 in a round robin format, is an excellent way to warm up for the coming season. You can't waste time getting into the match or it will be over before you get started. This tournament is also a level 5 event, giving extra points for the participants under the USRA ranking system. Too bad we don't award points for tournament hospitality, since Grandma Negrete's turkey dinner on Saturday night would certainly win some. We also should give extra points to tournament rookies above a certain age. How about some extra points for 77 year old, Tony Lang, playing in his first tournament ever!!! Way to go Tony.
Looks like the younger men, need to take their cue from not only rookies like Tony, but other Senior Masters like John O'Donnell and Bert Shulimsen since injuries and sprains were the rule of the day, at least with the younger set. In the 35/40's, first seed, Dave Negrete had to drop out with a bad knee after 6 matches, as did 4th seed Jim Hillman, who dropped out after 5. Unfortunately, this prevented a rematch between Dave and eventual first place finisher, Tom Utterback. It was also nice to see Tom Connelly step up from third seed to take a strong second place finish in the 35's and a first in the 40's. Probably the biggest beneficiary of both Dave's and Jim's injuries was Mike Davern (the author) who lucked into a 4th place finish in the 35's and an unexpected 2nd in the 40's. Playing poorly against those who dropped out and well against those who stayed certainly helped! Congratulations to all the winners, especially repeat winners, Manuel Rosiles in the 60+ INT, the unstoppable Ron Yonkee in the 55+, and John O'Donnell in the 70's. Nice to see a good showing on the women's side with 15 participants. Repeat winners include Ellen Somberg and Gail Parzygnat.
For all tournament places down to eight place see the table below.
| WEEKEND | TOURNAMENT | ADDRESS | Contact | October 16-17, 1999 | 16th Annual Midwest Seniors/Masters | Athletic Club at Bloomingdale Bloomingdale |
Rich Clay (847) 918--7407 |
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| Event | First Place | Second Place | Third Place | Fourth Place | Fifth Place | Six Place | Seven Place | Eight Place | Women's 35+ ADV | Ellen Somberg | Nancy Schum | Diane Bunker | Julie Vincent | Liz Moliter | Women's 35+ INT | Gail Parzygnat | Cheryl Kirk | Janet Christie | Laura Rosiles | Women's 40+ ADV | Ellen Somberg | Nancy Schum | Liz Moliter | Women's 40+ INT | Gail Parzygnat | Cheryl Kirk | Janet Christie | Women's 45+ ADV | Nancy Kronenfeld | Nancy Rocha | Kathy Dunham Also 1st 50+ ADV |
Marha Huske | Lynne Weisbert | Women's 45+ INT | Gail Parzygnat | Men's 35+ ADV | Tom Utterback | Tom Connelly | Watmera Casey | Mike Davern | Robert Morrison | Dave Negrete | Scott Ross | Jim Hillman | Men's 40+ ADV | Tom Connelly | Mike Davern | Watmora Casey | Dave Negrete | Scott Ross | Kevin Yeazell | Jim Hillman | Men's 35+ INT | Al Robledo | Mark Burns | John Geatros | Manny Diaz | Leo Formanski | Joe DeRoche | Men's 40+ INT | Al Robledo | Mark Burns | John Geatros | Manny Diaz | Leo Formanski | Men's 45+ INT | Rajesh Sendhi | Tom Corr | George Henton | Men's 45+ ADV | Dave Olson | Brian Castillo | Kevin Johnson | Jim Elliott | Rajash Sendhi | Tom Corr | Charley Naber | George Henton | Men's 50+ ADV | Horace Miller | Frank Rusch | Gene Cromwell | Dennis McKee | Leo Klimaitis | Len Schultz | Men's 50+ INT | Ric Robles | Joe Vallender | John Koziel | William Myers | Jim Schevers | George Smuckel | Alex Kurczaba | Men's 55+ INT | Larry Schum | Al Lund | Jessie Christian | Rich Weismahl | Men's 55+ ADV | Ron Yonkee | Pat Taylor | Herb Laney | Erhart Gruenwald | Larry Schum | Al Lund | Joe Quirke | Jessie Christian | Men's 60+ INT | Manuel Rosiles | Curly Noerenberg | Terry Wagner | Michael Garcia | Men's 60+ | Bruce Mason | John Talty, Sr. | Ed Olah | John O'Donnell | Bert Shulimson | Tony Lang | Robert Beiner | Men's 65+ INT | Curly Noerenberg | Terry Wagner | Michael Garcia | Men's 65+ | Ed Olah | John O'Donnell | Bert Shulimsen | Tony Lang | Robert Beiner | Men's 70+ INT | Curly Noerenberg | Michael Garcia | Men's 70+ | John O'Donnell | Bert Shulimsen | Tony Lang |
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