What an exciting day of bridge in Sau Paulo! I hope you all had a chance to watch on BBO. With the Quarterfinals starting…the tension builds. USA II was relaxed and ready to go for the 11am start. Facing 6 segments of 16 boards against Netherlands – the strategy was to get a jump start by scoring big the first few sets. At the end of segment one USA II led Netherlands 46-26 and when you add the 5 Victory Point carry over – USA II was off to a great start – up 25 Victory Points. Understanding that there were a lot of boards to play, USA II was happy but wanted more. Netherlands is known for having explosive sets so a cushion lead is always a good thing against this team. USA II added 11 Victory Points to their total bring the lead to 36 Victory Points with 1/3 of play completed. The third segment, however, saw a “run on the bank” – USA II’s Victory Point Bank – leaving USA II with a three Victory Point lead going into Day II of the Quarterfinals.
USA II spent a quiet evening dining at the hotel buffett (day 8 of the same food!) and ended the evening watching the television show “2 1/2 men”. Laughing together as a team does wonders for team comrodery. We are through season 3 now…hoping to be together in Sau Paulo long enough finish the remaining 6 seasons! You are probably thinking – wow world class bridge during the day and canned sitcoms at night – what a life! Well, it is pretty sweet.
A last word on the Round Robin Butler scores: USA II pairs finished 13th (Zia & Hamman), 21st (Katz & Nickell) and 25th (Meckstroth & Rodwell). It’s always good to have all three pairs in the top 25 but again, the Butler score is only a slight indication of how the pairs are playing.
USA II will be on BBO for all three segments today – 9am, 12:30pm and 3:20pm (Dallas Time). Please take some time out of your busy day and log on to BBO. USA II needs your energy to pull off the win against Netherlands and advance to the Semifinals!
Other USA Teams
In the Venice Cup: USA II is down 20 Victory Points to Germany. Remember, this is usually a final matchup so this should be a great match to follow to the end. In the other USA match, USA I is leading Spain by 8 Victory Points.
In the Senior Bowl: USA I and USA II are pitted against each other and USA II has the best of USA I by 20 Victory Points at halftime.
Have a great Monday and I hope you get to watch some bridge today!
