USSO 2006 Player Roster: Detailed, By Rating

Photo

Name

Rating

Home

Division

Panupol Sujjayakorn

21, Student

Rating: 2003

Record: 9th (2002), 23rd (2004), 2nd (2005)

Home: Bangkok, Thailand

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2002 Thailand Match Play Champion, 2003 World Champion

Hobbies: Football

Dave Wiegand

32, Mortgage Underwriter

Rating: 1984

Record: 2nd (1994), 26th (1996), 14th (1998), 3rd (2000), 6th (2002), 86th (2004), 1st (2005)

Home: Portland, OR

Awards and Tournament Wins: (9th) 2001 WSC; (2nd) 1994 (3rd) 2000 (6th) 2002 NSC (1st) 2005 NSC; 2004-05 Seattle, WA; 2004-06 SWILLINS; 2004-09 Portland and numerous other Western US tournament

Hobbies: Bridge, Music

Brian Cappelletto

36, trader

Rating: 1969

Record: 16th (1987), 15th (1988), 42nd (1989), 10th (1990), 3rd (1992), 4th (1996), 1st (1998), 2nd (2000), 4th (2002), 5th (2004), 11th (2005)

Home: Chicago, IL

Awards and Tournament Wins: 1998 NSC; 2001 WSC; 1997, 2004 Boston Premier; 1999, 2002, 2003 Reno

Hobbies: golf, impersonations, fantasy baseball

Randy Greenspan

52, postal clerk

Rating: 1952

Record: 1st (1988), 102th (1989), 74th (1990), 33rd (1992), 48th (1994), 12th (1996), 7th (1998), 40th (2000), 110th (2002), 101th (2004), 53rd (2005)

Home: Buffalo, NY

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2003-08 Bird-in-Hand, PA; 2004-03 Pigeon Forge, TN; 2004-07 Albany, NY

Hobbies: crosswords,retrotainment,pingpong

John Luebkemann

Age withheld, Actuary

Rating: 1950

Record: 36th (1990), 49th (1992), 52nd (1994), 10th (1996), 13th (1998), 19th (2000), 12th (2004), 3rd (2005)

Home: Pineville, NC

Awards and Tournament Wins: Many Tournament wins places and shows over 22 years of play

Hobbies: Sudoku, Weight Training, Listening to Music

Sammy Okosagah

Age withheld, Restaurant Manager

Rating: 1944

Record: 12th (1998), 9th (2000), 26th (2004), 29th (2005)

Home: Baltimore, MD

Awards and Tournament Wins: 1990 Nigerian NSC; 2004-07 Reno, NV

Hobbies: Soccer, Music

Jason Katz-Brown

19, MIT undergraduate, Google summer intern

Rating: 1943

Record: 18th (2004), 6th (2005)

Home: Cambridge, MA

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2006 Boston Area Tournament Champion

Hobbies: Open-source software development (see http://quackle.org), table tennis

Robin Pollock Daniel

44, Mom/Psychotherapist

Rating: 1940

Record: 58th (1996), 13th (2002), 40th (2004), 40th (2005)

Home: Toronto, ON, Canada

Awards and Tournament Wins: Played in 1993 1995 1997 2001 WSC; played in 2002 2004 Can-Am; 2000, 2001 Toronto; 2003 Atlantic City; 2003 Boston Premier

Hobbies: Fitness, Gourmet Cooking

Jim Kramer

47, Proofreader

Rating: 1939

Record: 103th (1985), 11th (1987), 84th (1988), 104th (1989), 48th (1990), 52nd (1992), 20th (1994), 21st (1996), 4th (1998), 8th (2000), 11th (2002), 50th (2004), 9th (2005)

Home: Roseville, MN

Joel Wapnick

60, University professor

Rating: 1936

Record: 24th (1978), 10th (1980), 1st (1983), 18th (1985), 14th (1987), 3rd (1988), 12th (1989), 27th (1990), 2nd (1992), 9th (1994), 19th (1996), 29th (1998), 11th (2000), 10th (2002), 9th (2004), 55th (2005)

Home: Montreal, QC, Canada

Awards and Tournament Wins: 1983 NSC; (2nd) 1993 WSC; 1998 CNSC; 1999 WSC; (2nd) 2001 WSC

Hobbies: Scrabble (more than a hobby)

Nick Meyer

Age withheld, Graduate Student

Rating: 1926

Record: 50th (2004), 77th (2005)

Home: Berkeley, CA

Hobbies: Baseball, tennis, crossword puzzles

Scott Appel

Age withheld, statistician

Rating: 1921

Record: 6th (1998), 59th (2000), 39th (2002), 33rd (2004), 39th (2005)

Home: Trenton, NJ

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2003-08 Parsippany, NJ

Hobbies: Resident of Red Sox Nation, Toddler Chaser

Kenji Matsumoto

21, Student

Rating: 1915

Record: 53rd (2002), 60th (2004), 19th (2005)

Home: Amherst, MA

Awards and Tournament Wins: Division 3 Reno 2000, Division 2 2005 BAT premier

Hobbies: philosophy

Pakorn Nemitrmansuk

30, architect

Rating: 1915

Record: 97th (1992), 31st (1994), 57th (2002), 7th (2004), 25th (2005)

Home: Bangkok, AB, Thailand

Awards and Tournament Wins: 1992 2003 Thailand Champion; (2nd) 2003, (2nd) 2005 WSC

Hobbies: soccer

Trey Wright

32, Freelance pianist

Rating: 1909

Record: 2nd (1998), 12th (2000), 29th (2002), 1st (2004), 30th (2005)

Home: Van Nuys, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2nd place, Chicago Nationals 1998; 1st place, Atlanta 2002; 2nd place, Tampa 2004; 1st place, New Orleans Nationals 2004

Lloyd Mills

Age withheld, Air Conditioning/Heating Contractor

Rating: 1897

Record: 24th (2005)

Home: Georgetown, ON, Canada

Awards and Tournament Wins: Have won some tournaments and am the proud father of Isabel, my 11-year old daughter

Hobbies: Hiking, Cycling, Crossword Puzzles

Ian Weinstein

40, physician

Rating: 1896

Record: 56th (2000), 38th (2005)

Home: Coral Springs, FL

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2002-02 Stuart, FL; 2002-03 Stuart, FL; 2003-01 Treasure Coast, FL;2003-08 Fort Lauderdale, FL; 2004-10 Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Hobbies: bridge, poker, and the quest for prajna

Robert Ellickson

65, Law Professor

Rating: 1888

Record: 189th (1985), 13th (1987), 20th (1989), 69th (1990), 18th (1992), 46th (1994), 38th (1998), 84th (2000), 25th (2002), 17th (2004)

Home: New Haven, CT

Joel Sherman

44, Scrabble player

Rating: 1888

Record: 65th (1989), 67th (1990), 34th (1992), 12th (1994), 29th (1996), 11th (1998), 14th (2000), 1st (2002), 81st (2004), 26th (2005)

Home: Bronx, NY

Awards and Tournament Wins: 1997 World, 2002 National Scrabble Champion, featured character in Fatsis' "Word Freak" and Chaikin's "Word Wars"

Hobbies: piano, singing, movies

Joe Edley

58, Consultant to the National SCRABBLE Association

Rating: 1882

Record: 1st (1980), 3rd (1983), 2nd (1985), 14th (1987), 1st (1992), 4th (1994), 3rd (1996), 17th (1998), 1st (2000), 23rd (2002), 15th (2004), 5th (2005)

Home: Coram, NY

Awards and Tournament Wins: 3 time National SCRABBLE Champion

Hobbies: reading, movies, tai chi

Lester Schonbrun

70, Legal Assistant/Computers

Rating: 1882

Record: 16th (1980), 9th (1985), 15th (1987), 34th (1988), 75th (1989), 2nd (1990), 4th (1992), 54th (1994), 6th (1996), 16th (1998), 41st (2000), 61st (2002), 69th (2004), 14th (2005)

Home: Oakland, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: Best supporting actor, 1927 in Birth of a Nation; runner-up in NSC Wash, DC, winner West Coast Chmp., numerous others

Hobbies: Bird watching and stamp collecting - or watching birds collect stamps.

Mark Pistolese

Age withheld, retired

Rating: 1878

Record: 81st (1994), 36th (1998), 20th (2000), 6th (2002), 31st (2005)

Home: Pahoa, HI

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2003-11 Fort Lauderdale, FL

Hobbies: swimming, hiking, board games

Chris Cree

51, used equipment, sales and leasing

Rating: 1872

Record: 31st (1983), 130th (1985), 16th (1987), 41st (1988), 33rd (1989), 24th (1990), 24th (1992), 55th (1994), 36th (1996), 35th (1998), 45th (2000), 47th (2002), 4th (2004), 23rd (2005)

Home: Dallas, TX

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2002-02 Salado, TX; 2002-02 Phoenix, AZ; 2002-06, 2003-06 Mid-Cities, TX;2003-08 Houston, TX; 2004-01 Lampasas, TX; 2004-02 Costa Rica; 2004-06 Provence, France

Hobbies: golf, music, reading

Marty Gabriel

54, School Social Worker

Rating: 1872

Record: 99th (1998), 36th (2000), 65th (2002), 95th (2004), 46th (2005)

Home: Charleston, IL

Awards and Tournament Wins: Touch Football All-American (nine times); National Touch Football League championship team member (seven times); two 700+ games at club; 128 consecutive free throws made

Hobbies: basketball, golf, tennis, softball, White Sox, Bulls, Bears

John OLaughlin

26, Software QA Engineer

Rating: 1872

Record: 10th (2002), 34th (2004), 20th (2005)

Home: Sun Prairie, WI

Awards and Tournament Wins: (28th) 2003 WSC; 2004-11 Elmhurst, IL

Hobbies: music, movies, puzzles and computers

Joey Mallick

26, Chart-man

Rating: 1868

Record: 28th (1998), 21st (2000), 17th (2002), 30th (2004), 15th (2005)

Home: Cape Elizabeth, ME

Awards and Tournament Wins: Yes, but not many; 2004-10 Cape Cod, MA; 2005-01 Reno, NV

Hobbies: Internet surfing, old video games, sudoku

Mark Landsberg

68, unemployed philosopher

Rating: 1862

Record: 3rd (1988), 80th (1994), 37th (1998), 8th (2002)

Home: Laguna Woods, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: 770 point game-- three times senior champion---father of Marcus

Hobbies: table tennis

Steve Polatnick

61, attorney at law

Rating: 1856

Record: 17th (1978), 11th (1980), 8th (1983), 16th (1985), 14th (1987), 11th (1988), 35th (1989), 25th (1990), 28th (1992), 21st (1994), 13th (1996), 33rd (1998), 27th (2000), 36th (2002), 58th (2004), 63rd (2005)

Home: Miami, FL

Awards and Tournament Wins: 4th Place, World Scrabble Championship 2001

Hobbies: tennis, bicycle touring, foreign languages

Dean Saldanha

23, Engineering Assistant / Student

Rating: 1856

Record: 3rd (2000), 20th (2002), 68th (2004), 49th (2005)

Home: Richmond, BC, Canada

Awards and Tournament Wins: (1st) 2005 Vancouver; (2nd) 2003 CNSC; played in 2003 2005 WSC

Hobbies: Roller Hockey, Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, Golf, Music, Reading

Rusty Peltz

33, Software engineer

Rating: 1854

Record: 4th (2000), 43rd (2002), 96th (2004), 36th (2005)

Home: San Diego, CA

Hobbies: baseball, golf

Craig Rowland

40, Library Assistant

Rating: 1847

Record: 73rd (2002), 32nd (2004)

Home: Mississauga, ON, Canada

Hobbies: Minority European languages (I just returned from Switzerland where I was studying Romansch); Apple Records; Värttinä

Peter Armstrong

33, GIS Analyst

Rating: 1839

Record: 80th (1998), 71st (2000), 24th (2002), 29th (2004), 22nd (2005)

Home: Baltimore, MD

Awards and Tournament Wins: Arden Cup 2004

Hobbies: Ultimate Frisbee

Stefan Rau

30, Physician (in residency)

Rating: 1839

Record: 159th (2004)

Home: Newington, CT

Hobbies: Fantasy baseball

Evan Berofsky

30, Returning university student, freelance writer, disturber of peace

Rating: 1836

Record: 17th (1998), 34th (2000), 38th (2002), 36th (2004), 33rd (2005)

Home: Thornhill, ON, Canada

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2002-06, 2004-06 Livonia MI; 2003, 2004 Toronto Club Champion; 2003-11 Brantford ON

Hobbies: Extreme Canasta, Alphabet Drinking Game, prone to recite bad lyrics from obscure songs

Trip Payne

38, puzzlemaker

Rating: 1834

Record: 52nd (1998), 82nd (2000), 51st (2005)

Home: Boca Raton, FL

Awards and Tournament Wins: American Crossword Puzzle Tournament champion (93, 98, 04); first 32K winner on WWTBAM; featured in the movie Wordplay.

Hobbies: Puzzles, pinball

Christopher Sykes

40, Computer Programmer/Analyst

Rating: 1834

Record: 67th (2000)

Home: Cambridge, ON, Canada

Awards and Tournament Wins: 3rd Canadian Nationals 2000

Hobbies: nothing in particular

Robert Linn

Age withheld, Financial Advisor and Money Manager

Rating: 1832

Record: 11th (1987), 87th (1988), 87th (1989), 94th (1990), 93rd (1992), 106th (1994), 62nd (1996), 18th (1998), 48th (2000), 18th (2002), 72nd (2004), 82nd (2005)

Home: Potomac, MD

Awards and Tournament Wins: 31st in Kuala Lumpur 2003 World Scrabble Championships, played for 12 years on a nationally ranked paintball team

Hobbies: tennis, ping pong, travel

Cecilia Le

Age withheld, journalist

Rating: 1831

Record: 88th (2004), 41st (2005)

Home: Wilmington, DE

Awards and Tournament Wins: kent gardens elementary spelling bee champ

Hobbies: beach reading, tree climbing, sushi tasting, dognaping

Mark Kenas

53, Antiques Dealer

Rating: 1828

Record: 5th (1988), 21st (1989), 69th (1992), 51st (2002), 28th (2004), 42nd (2005)

Home: Madison, WI

Hobbies: Canoeing, Well Drilling

Daniel Fogel

17, Student

Rating: 1827

Record: 20th (2005)

Home: Newton, MA

Awards and Tournament Wins: Highest rated under 18 player in NSA

Hobbies: Juggling, Foosball, Tennis, Ultimate, Hackey Sack, Writing

Rod MacNeil

32, freelance sportswriter, citizen of Red Sox Nation

Rating: 1827

Record: 37th (1998), 76th (2000), 74th (2002), 78th (2004), 12th (2005)

Home: Wilmington, DE

Awards and Tournament Wins: Winner of: Boston (Div A) 2004; Cape Cod '99, '00, '03; Rhombus Cup '03; 22 total first-place finishes

Hobbies: hockey, fantasy sports, movies, 24, blogging, sushi with C, monkey taming

Laurie Cohen

Age withheld, Research Director

Rating: 1823

Record: 114th (2002), 49th (2004), 6th (2005)

Home: Tempe, AZ

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2003-12 Tucson, AZ

Hobbies: movies, travel

Patrick Hodges

36, Billing Clerk

Rating: 1823

Record: 2nd (2002), 71st (2004)

Home: Glendale, AZ

Awards and Tournament Wins: League Champ, 2004-2005, Phoenix Scrabble Club; 2nd Place, Div. 3., 2002 Nationals

Hobbies: Golf, Bowling, Movies

Michael Early

Age withheld, musician

Rating: 1822

Record: 6th (1992), 107th (2002), 14th (2004), 1st (2005)

Home: Fort Worth, TX

Awards and Tournament Wins: Texas State Scrabble Champ 1994, Division Two Champ 2005

Hobbies: songwriting, composing, philosphy, games

Marlon Hill

Age withheld, WRITER

Rating: 1819

Record: 125th (1992), 99th (1994), 2nd (1996), 69th (1998), 33rd (2000), 8th (2002), 27th (2004), 45th (2005)

Home: Baltimore, MD

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2001-11 Baltimore, MD; 2003-10 Baltimore, MD

Hobbies: MUSIC

David Poder

59, Physician

Rating: 1818

Record: 117th (1996), 105th (1998), 34th (2002), 13th (2004), 66th (2005)

Home: Huntington Beach, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2004-06 Mediterranean Cruise; (4th) 2004-07 Reno, NV; (13th) 2004 NSC; (2nd) 2005-07 California Seniors

Hobbies: Golf

Michael Baker

46, Engineering Technician

Rating: 1813

Record: 1st (1994), 5th (1996), 88th (1998), 61st (2000), 87th (2002), 74th (2004), 60th (2005)

Home: Portland, OR

Awards and Tournament Wins: I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying. [Woody Allen]

Hobbies: Pool, Poker

Jerry Lerman

56, Risk Management Consultant

Rating: 1812

Record: 29th (1985), 14th (1987), 39th (1988), 47th (1994), 41st (1996), 16th (2000), 26th (2002), 64th (2004), 4th (2005)

Home: Foster City, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: Invitee to World Scrabble Championship, 1993 and 2005

Hobbies: Reading, Local Newspaper Publishing, Chess

Steve Tier

65, Teacher

Rating: 1811

Record: 74th (1989), 41st (1990), 115th (1992), 6th (1994), 74th (1996), 103th (1998), 85th (2000), 27th (2002), 25th (2004), 48th (2005)

Home: New York, NY

Awards and Tournament Wins: Long Island Science Teacher of the Year; 2002-07 Albany, NY

Hobbies: crossword puzzles

Jim Geary

39, gambolero

Rating: 1810

Record: 1st (1992), 36th (1994), 11th (1996), 6th (1998), 18th (2000), 68th (2002), 65th (2004), 52nd (2005)

Home: Phoenix, AZ

Awards and Tournament Wins: Western Intercollegiate Chess 1990; 20+ Scrabble Tourneys; 2nd place, Jack Rabbit Slim's Twist Contest, 1994

Hobbies: studying music, exercise, blogging: walterzuey, betting the Royals, riding bike midday past the 3-piece suits

Jeffrey Kastner

56, Chess and Sudoku columnist

Rating: 1810

Record: 12th (1987), 55th (1988), 62nd (1989)

Home: Phoenix, AZ

Awards and Tournament Wins: One of few ever to be rated USA-Top-50 in both chess and Scrabble

Hobbies: Movies, theater, travel, ballroom dancing

Darrell Day

49, Executive Search Firm CEO

Rating: 1809

Record: 7th (1985), 12th (1988), 5th (1989), 76th (1996), 76th (2002), 97th (2004), 32nd (2005)

Home: Richardson, TX

Awards and Tournament Wins: Former City Councilman; wrote feature published in NY Times

Hobbies: basketball, jogging, volleyball, chasing my 3-year-old

Jesse Matthews

20, Vaquero

Rating: 1807

Record: 116th (2004), 101th (2005)

Home: Calgary, AB, Canada

Awards and Tournament Wins: Hopefully a good result at Nationals :-)

Hobbies: pwning n00bs

Larry Rand

62, retired

Rating: 1806

Record: 93rd (2002), 67th (2005)

Home: Chandler, AZ

Awards and Tournament Wins: Co-director of the year 2003; Dickinson College sports hall of fame

Hobbies: Travel, photography and family

Ben Withers

58, Physician

Rating: 1806

Record: 70th (1996), 116th (1998), 18th (2000), 72nd (2002), 16th (2004), 85th (2005)

Home: Houston, TX

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2003-02, 2005-02 Salado, TX; 2005-01 Waco, TX; (51st) 2003 WSC; Texas State Champion 2003 and 2005

Hobbies: Travel, Reading

Ira Cohen

59, electrical contractor

Rating: 1804

Record: 13th (1987), 81st (1988), 20th (1996), 10th (1998), 23rd (2000), 15th (2002), 38th (2004), 34th (2005)

Home: Los Angeles, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2001-07 Denver, CO; 2001-09 Northridge, CA; 2001-10 Western Canadian Championship (E.B. and M.E.); 2002-06 Bozeman, MT; 2003-10, 2004-10 Western Canadian Championship (E.B. and M.E.); 2004-06 Bozeman, MT

Hobbies: chess,crossword puzzles,traveling,tennis,basketball

Ron Hoekstra

38, Accountant

Rating: 1802

Record: 41st (1998), 30th (2000), 81st (2002), 112th (2004), 65th (2005)

Home: Kentwood, MI

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2000 Canadian Champion; 2004-06 Port Huron, MI; 2004-10 Petosky, MI

Hobbies: hockey, keyboards, languages

Dominick Mancine

32, Software engineer

Rating: 1802

Record: 99th (2004), 15th (2005)

Home: Louisville, CO

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2nd place Pinewood Derby, 1982; Tallest rated Scrabble player in Colorado

Hobbies: computers

Iffy Onyeonwu

Age withheld, Computer Retailer

Rating: 1802

Record: 30th (1998), 20th (2000), 30th (2002), 56th (2004), 68th (2005)

Home: Austin, TX

Awards and Tournament Wins: 1990 Nigerian NSC; African Champion 1994; 2003-01 Lampasas, TX; 2003-02 Phoenix, AZ; 2004-02 Texas State Championship; 2004-09 Houston, TX; 2004-12 Austin, TX

Hobbies: Soccer

Kenneth Rubin

21, Student

Rating: 1795

Record: 3rd (2004), 3rd (2005)

Home: New York, NY

Awards and Tournament Wins: 3rd Place, Division 3, 2004 Nationals

Hobbies: Sports, Crossword Puzzles, Reading

Dielle Saldanha

17, student

Rating: 1792

Record: 1st (2002), 9th (2004), 84th (2005)

Home: Richmond, BC, Canada

Awards and Tournament Wins: 1st place- div 6, 2002 NSC; div 2, Portland 2005

Hobbies: field hockey, shopping, running, reading

Sam Kantimathi

Age withheld, Engineering Entrepreneur

Rating: 1791

Record: 131st (1985), 13th (1987), 31st (1989), 46th (1990), 15th (1992), 60th (1994), 82nd (1996), 46th (1998), 62nd (2000), 50th (2002), 67th (2004), 10th (2005)

Home: El Dorado Hills, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: 1994 Thai Cup; (27th) 1995 Superstars; 1997 $10,000 Manila; 2001-10 Wisconsin Dells, WI; 2001-10 Campbell, CA; 2001-12 Tucson, AZ; 2003-02 Tampa Bay, FL; (22nd) 2003 All*Stars; Guinness world record holder for highest-scoring opening move (BEZIQUE, 124)

Hobbies: Safaris, Photography, Worldwide travel, Making products for wordgame lovers, Snorkel, Hiking, Eating

Kent Nelson

68, Retired Educator

Rating: 1789

Record: 7th (1987), 11th (1994), 38th (1996), 29th (2000)

Home: Sandy, UT

Awards and Tournament Wins: Won Grand Canyon Scrabble Tournament, 2000

Hobbies: Golf, Bowling, Boggle

Lisa Odom

47, Quality Assurance Analyst

Rating: 1788

Record: 134th (1989), 66th (1990), 61st (1992), 14th (1994), 56th (1996), 24th (1998), 91st (2000), 123rd (2002), 21st (2004), 27th (2005)

Home: St. Louis Park, MN

Awards and Tournament Wins: 3-time World Championship participant

Hobbies: reading, guitar, singing, design junkie, ventriloquist manque

Jeff Widergren

44, Software Engineer

Rating: 1786

Record: 14th (1987), 54th (1988), 56th (1989), 21st (1992), 34th (1994), 32nd (1996), 40th (1998), 37th (2000), 76th (2002), 39th (2004), 35th (2005)

Home: Morgan Hill, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: 95 WSC Team, 2nd 95 Reno, 20+ local wins, highest US play 338 pts

Hobbies: Golf, Children

Amnuay Ploysangngam

41, Businessman

Rating: 1785

Record: 91st (1988), 46th (1989), 57th (1990), 87th (1992), 91st (1994), 79th (1996), 91st (1998), 46th (2000), 33rd (2002), 77th (2004), 73rd (2005)

Home: Bangkok, Thailand

Awards and Tournament Wins: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994 Thailand Grand Prix Champion

Hobbies: Golf, Football

Ray Smith

47, Computer specialist

Rating: 1785

Record: 120th (1998), 69th (2000), 4th (2005)

Home: Tucker, GA

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2003-01 Rome, GA; 2003-09, 2004-09 Atlanta, GA; 2004-05 Athens, GA

Hobbies: Pinball, walking, computers

Orry Swift

19, Student

Rating: 1785

First-time competitor

Home: Dayton, TX

Hobbies: Video Games, Basketball, Anime

Maddy Golob

Age withheld, High School Math Teacher

Rating: 1784

Record: 95th (1994), 49th (2002), 23rd (2004), 92nd (2005)

Home: Canyon Country, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: Club 44 (Los Angeles) Champion for 2005-2006

Hobbies: Crossword puzzles, mahjong (takes a "g"), Jumbletime

Doug Brockmeier

22, Grad Student

Rating: 1774

Record: 1st (2002), 2nd (2005)

Home: Yorba Linda, CA

Hobbies: eating, reading, writing, music, movies

Paul Epstein

54, Social Worker

Rating: 1769

Record: 49th (1985), 15th (1987), 29th (1988), 36th (1989), 52nd (1990), 72nd (1992), 27th (1994), 5th (1996), 15th (1998), 31st (2000), 5th (2002), 93rd (2004), 64th (2005)

Home: Keego Harbor, MI

Awards and Tournament Wins: 5th--NSC Dallas 1996, 5th--NSC San Diego 2002, 25th--WSC Melbourne 1999

Hobbies: Music, Standup Comedy

Max Panitch

31, student

Rating: 1764

Record: 103th (2002), 13th (2004)

Home: Toronto, ON, Canada

Hobbies: photography, baseball

Steve Glass

52, Realtor/Loan Officer/Tax Preparer

Rating: 1760

Record: 2nd (1996), 9th (1998), 3rd (2002), 63rd (2004), 10th (2005)

Home: Dade City, FL

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2002-09 Albuquerque, NM; 2003-10 Hudson, OH; 2004-11 Dallas, TX

Geoff Thevenot

36, proofreader for educational publisher

Rating: 1758

Record: 122nd (2004), 43rd (2005)

Home: Austin, TX

Awards and Tournament Wins: 257th runner-up, Most Eligible Scrabbler, 2006; 2nd-most discipline referrals, Putnam City North High School, 1986-1987

Hobbies: guitar, keyboards, reading, tennis, philosophy, drinking

Debbie Stegman

44, Human Resources Executive

Rating: 1756

Record: 17th (2000), 81st (2002), 89th (2004), 50th (2005)

Home: Kew Gardens, NY

Lewis Martinez

Age withheld, Attorney

Rating: 1748

Record: 51st (1998)

Home: Fresno, CA

Judy Levitt

60, retired lawyer

Rating: 1747

Record: 24th (1994), 63rd (2002), 126th (2004), 7th (2005)

Home: Los Angeles, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2nd highest game (after Mr. 770)-- 756; high word - 302; tied for most bingos in one game - 7

Hobbies: working on the revolution

Tom Singleton

Age withheld, Accountant

Rating: 1747

Record: 10th (1987), 54th (2002), 61st (2004), 81st (2005)

Home: Laguna Hills, CA

Joel Elkins

42, Law Student

Rating: 1746

Record: 70th (1988), 12th (2000), 125th (2002), 84th (2004)

Home: West Hollywood, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: Reigning Club 44 Champion

Hobbies: Baseball and, oh, I don't know, Scrabble

Tony Leah

57, Labour Union Education Coordinator

Rating: 1744

Record: 4th (2002), 13th (2004), 42nd (2005)

Home: Ajax, ON, Canada

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2nd - 2005 Canadian Scrabble Championship

Hobbies: labour history, book collecting

Mark Przybyszewski

41, credit counselor

Rating: 1743

Record: 164th (1988), 64th (1989), 40th (1990), 39th (1992), 26th (1994), 101th (1998), 73rd (2000), 48th (2002), 142nd (2004), 18th (2005)

Home: Depew, NY

Awards and Tournament Wins: former Mensa member

Hobbies: karaoke, puzzles, collecting casino memorabilia

Diane Firstman

43, Demographic analyst

Rating: 1742

Record: 79th (1996), 103th (2000), 77th (2002), 91st (2004), 73rd (2005)

Home: Brooklyn, NY

Awards and Tournament Wins: Survived to this point

Hobbies: Baseball humorist/blogger/researcher

Conrad Bassett-Bouchard

16, Student

Rating: 1740

Record: 28th (2005)

Home: Moraga, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: Surviving 4 simultaneous AP classes

Hobbies: Drums, Ultimate/Disc golf

Jan Mills

Age withheld, accountant

Rating: 1736

Record: 20th (1983), 41st (1985), 11th (1987), 93rd (1988), 61st (1989), 64th (1990), 90th (1992), 53rd (1994), 31st (1996), 66th (1998), 32nd (2000), 52nd (2002), 35th (2004), 54th (2005)

Home: Georgetown, ON, Canada

Awards and Tournament Wins: 1st place Boston Premier in my prime; 4th place Super Stars; Two superb children; Two amazing grandchildren

Hobbies: hiking, crossword puzzles, dancing

Carl Stocker

74, emeritus professor

Rating: 1732

Record: 48th (1978), 20th (1980), 86th (1985), 10th (1987), 109th (1988), 93rd (1990), 50th (1992), 78th (1994), 47th (1996), 20th (1998), 83rd (2000), 19th (2002), 165th (2004)

Home: Miami, FL

Hobbies: piano, tennis, computers,photography

Joel Horn

49, Computer engineer

Rating: 1731

Record: 172nd (1988), 155th (1990), 88th (1992), 119th (1998), 83rd (2000), 44th (2002), 98th (2004)

Home: Reading, MA

Awards and Tournament Wins: won Albany, 2001; 2004-10 Lake George, NY

Hobbies: Sports, Mah Jongg

Scott Anderson

23, Grad Student

Rating: 1728

Record: 24th (2004)

Home: Berkeley, CA

Hobbies: Vegan cooking, reading

Greg Heidler

49, attorney

Rating: 1728

Record: 9th (1987), 11th (1992), 14th (1994), 14th (1998), 13th (2000), 37th (2002), 4th (2004), 65th (2005)

Home: Waialua, HI

Hobbies: tennis

Mike Baron

56, Psychologist

Rating: 1726

Record: 29th (1983), 70th (1985), 11th (1987), 44th (1988), 16th (1989), 30th (1990), 73rd (1992), 92nd (1994), 14th (1996), 79th (1998), 43rd (2000), 97th (2002), 145th (2004)

Home: Corrales, NM

Awards and Tournament Wins: The Wordbook (1988,1994,2004), The Blankbook (1992)

Hobbies: journal writing, traveling, golf, reading

Ted Rosen

58, Newspaper Copy Editor

Rating: 1722

Record: 68th (1985), 11th (1987), 25th (1988), 72nd (1989), 124th (1990), 92nd (1992), 69th (1994), 88th (1996), 75th (1998), 65th (2000), 83rd (2002), 153rd (2004), 11th (2005)

Home: Rochester, NY

Awards and Tournament Wins: Prizes in art shows at national, international level, also Williamsville Art Society Shows

Hobbies: Painting, collecting classical records, reading, running, fishing (with rod and reel).

Howard Pistol

49, Finance

Rating: 1720

Record: 11th (1990), 156th (1992), 96th (1994), 21st (1996), 17th (1998), 46th (2000), 52nd (2002), 114th (2004)

Home: Oakland Park, FL

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2004-05 Tampa Bay, FL

Hobbies: Travel

Keith Smith

Age withheld, Computer Programmer

Rating: 1720

Record: 44th (2002), 120th (2004), 69th (2005)

Home: Austin, TX

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2003-03 Lubbock, TX; 2004-06 Arlington, TX

Vince Castellano

Age withheld, Software Engineer

Rating: 1717

Record: 34th (2000), 99th (2002), 171st (2004), 46th (2005)

Home: Fairfax, VA

Awards and Tournament Wins: 1st Degree Black Belt Tae Kwon Do (WTF)

Hobbies: Music Physics Taw Kwon Do

Travis Chaney

32, Fast food management

Rating: 1717

Record: 16th (2002), 46th (2004), 74th (2005)

Home: Fort Smith, AR

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2005-04 Jonesboro, AR

Hobbies: Poetry composition, collecting jazz records

Jeremy Frank

37, Court Reporter

Rating: 1717

Record: 63rd (2000), 104th (2002), 43rd (2004), 74th (2005)

Home: New York, NY

Awards and Tournament Wins: Top 50 in 2005

Hobbies: Sports, travel, reading

David Pearl

36, Financial Planner

Rating: 1716

Record: 1st (1998), 1st (2000), 43rd (2002), 1st (2004), 79th (2005)

Home: Long Beach, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: New Orleans d2

Hobbies: Tennis, Golf, Reading, Music, Film

Laura Scheimberg

60, substitute teacher

Rating: 1715

Record: 114th (1988), 132nd (1989), 10th (2000), 85th (2002), 123rd (2004), 30th (2005)

Home: Littleton, CO

Hobbies: acting, portraits, reading, travel

Rick Wong

Age withheld, Web Development

Rating: 1715

Record: 42nd (1994), 109th (1998), 19th (2000), 29th (2002), 7th (2004), 12th (2005)

Home: San Jose, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: NSA AB member since 2003

Hobbies: Geocaching

Albert Hahn

58, delivering stuff

Rating: 1713

Record: 39th (1994), 6th (1996), 38th (2000), 88th (2002), 80th (2004), 56th (2005)

Home: Calgary, AB, Canada

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2004-01 Calgary AB, 2004-05 Calgary AB

Hobbies: walking, thinking, delivering stuff

Noel Livermore

53, Realtor(R)

Rating: 1707

Record: 172nd (1990), 119th (1992), 27th (1998), 25th (2000), 35th (2002), 42nd (2004)

Home: Easton, PA

Hobbies: Photography, ping-pong

Rose Kreiswirth

68, Retired Mental Health Clinic Administrator

Rating: 1703

Record: 82nd (1985), 12th (1987), 60th (1988), 15th (1989), 44th (1990), 70th (1992), 77th (1994), 86th (1998), 69th (2000), 86th (2002), 131st (2004)

Home: East Northport, NY

Hobbies: Reading....Puzzles....Mah Jongg....Volunteer work

Mark Fidler

Age withheld, teacher

Rating: 1701

Record: 206th (1985), 80th (1989), 65th (1990), 60th (1992), 37th (1994), 37th (1996), 112th (1998), 45th (2000), 91st (2002), 51st (2004), 44th (2005)

Home: Waltham, MA

Awards and Tournament Wins: 1st Place, Arizona Books Awards (children's lit), 2005 for The Call of Sagarmatha; 1st place, Scr. Div 1, Orange CT 2002

Hobbies: writing, golf, cycling, reading

Mason Shambach

57, Pastor

Rating: 1701

Record: 16th (2000), 61st (2002), 74th (2004), 88th (2005)

Home: Battle Creek, MI

Awards and Tournament Wins: Alaska Cruise Scrabble Tournament champion

Hobbies: Swimming

Stephen Knapp

48, occupation withheld

Rating: 1699

Record: 28th (2004), 64th (2005)

Home: Battle Creek, MI

David Hermanson

46, Technical Supervisor

Rating: 1698

Record: 19th (2002), 122nd (2004)

Home: Temple City, CA

Hobbies: Adventure travel, 3D animation

Chris Williams

36, Underachiever

Rating: 1698

Record: 5th (2005)

Home: Vancouver, BC, Canada

Hobbies: Mathematics, reading, computer games, vegetating

Scott Pianowski

37, Web Journalist

Rating: 1695

Record: 33rd (2000), 33rd (2002), 82nd (2004)

Home: Berkley, MI

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2005-04 Farmington, MI; 2000-07 Milan Invitational

Hobbies: Music, most sports, poker, roto, hanging with Kit

Thavach T

61, University Professor

Rating: 1694

Record: 117th (1994), 28th (2000), 106th (2002), 85th (2004), 32nd (2005)

Home: Bangkok, Thailand

Hobbies: Scrabble

Jean Carol

Age withheld, Retired Teacher

Rating: 1692

Record: 59th (1978), 62nd (1985), 14th (1987), 96th (1988), 112th (1989), 68th (1990), 81st (1992), 87th (1994), 72nd (1996), 73rd (1998), 70th (2000), 112th (2002), 110th (2004), 78th (2005)

Home: Cincinnati, OH

Awards and Tournament Wins: SuperStar - It was an honor just to be there

Hobbies: travel, studying Spanish and Russian

Roy Kamen

51, Sales Rep/ Shuttle Driver around Disneyland

Rating: 1692

Record: 54th (1996), 114th (1998), 38th (2000), 66th (2002), 33rd (2004), 14th (2005)

Home: Covina, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: Finished writing my 50,000+ flashcards this year!

Hobbies: Chess, Sudoku, Classic Rock Trivia

Arun Methaset

Age withheld, Management Executive

Rating: 1691

Record: 125th (1988), 114th (1989), 122nd (1994), 98th (1996), 60th (2000), 37th (2002), 38th (2005)

Home: Bangkok, AB, Thailand

Hobbies: Chess

Daniel Stock

47, Generic Computer Nerd

Rating: 1691

Record: 16th (1996), 15th (1998), 37th (2000), 15th (2004)

Home: Rocky River, OH

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2005-12 Farmington, MI; Found highest known theoretically possible OSPD Scrabble play

Hobbies: Running, canoeing

Ruth Hamilton

62, Information Technology Analyst

Rating: 1685

Record: 9th (1987), 80th (1988), 118th (1989), 109th (1990), 154th (1992), 18th (1996), 24th (1998), 56th (2000), 15th (2002), 94th (2005)

Home: Lake Oswego, OR

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2001 Michael Wise NSA Director of the Year

Hobbies: Reading, Needlework

Tim Anglin

Age withheld, retired

Rating: 1678

Record: 11th (1987), 19th (1988), 2nd (1989), 113th (1990), 9th (1994), 64th (1996), 96th (1998), 68th (2000), 82nd (2002), 51st (2004), 25th (2005)

Home: Toronto, ON, Canada

Awards and Tournament Wins: Atlantic City, Buffalo, Bozeman, Alaska Cruise, Mississauga, Daytona

Hobbies: flyfishing

Wayne Clifford

57, alarm agent

Rating: 1676

Record: 53rd (1998), 48th (2000), 40th (2002), 167th (2004), 36th (2005)

Home: Calgary, AB, Canada

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2005-01, 2005-03 Calgary, AB

Hobbies: golf

Jeff Fiszbein

49, clinical pharmacist

Rating: 1673

Record: 33rd (2002), 87th (2004), 55th (2005)

Home: South Lyon, MI

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2004 Arden Cup Div B winner

Hobbies: baseball, basketball, Frisbee golf, philately

Bruce D Ambrosio

52, retired computer programmer

Rating: 1671

Record: 59th (1988), 45th (1994), 17th (1996), 55th (1998), 80th (2000), 98th (2002), 164th (2004), 49th (2005)

Home: Los Angeles, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: Southern California Scrabble Hall of Fame honoree

Hobbies: movies, spectator sports

Rachel Knapp

Age withheld, Accountant

Rating: 1667

Record: 15th (2005)

Home: Tustin, CA

David Mallick

31, Editor

Rating: 1667

Record: 88th (2000), 108th (2002), 157th (2004)

Home: Andover, MA

Hobbies: Live music, foreign languages

Carl Johnson

24, Editorial Agent

Rating: 1665

First-time competitor

Home: Beaverton, OR

Hobbies: Musicology, Symphonic Composition, Reading, Java Programming, Coin Collecting, Poker

Alan Stern

46, Courier dispatcher

Rating: 1665

Record: 133rd (1985), 12th (1987), 117th (1988), 105th (1994), 57th (1996), 41st (1998), 33rd (2000), 75th (2002), 85th (2004)

Home: Shadow Hills, CA

Awards and Tournament Wins: One half of "Highest Rated Couple" early 90's, in high school voted "Most Likely to Allow a Future 770-Point Game"

Hobbies: Baseball, blurting out humorous one-liners, pets

Stuart Goldman

76, retired teacher

Rating: 1663

Record: 35th (1978), 11th (1983), 146th (1985), 14th (1987), 18th (1988), 44th (1989), 89th (1990), 6th (1992), 56th (1994), 67th (1996), 78th (1998), 78th (2000), 89th (2002), 31st (2005)

Home: Riverhead, NY

Awards and Tournament Wins: Scrabble senior hall of fame

Hobbies: puzzles

Jim Lamerand

59, Computer Programmer

Rating: 1661

Record: 89th (1985)

Home: Chandler, AZ

Hobbies: Chess

Dave Leifer

60, Corporate Tax Director

Rating: 1660

Record: 134th (1988), 81st (1989), 59th (1990), 20th (1992), 15th (1994), 71st (1996), 122nd (1998), 11th (2000), 35th (2002), 45th (2004), 40th (2005)

Home: Alpharetta, GA

Awards and Tournament Wins: 2006 Charlotte Division 2 Champion, Distinguished Service Award, Instute for Professionals in Taxation

Hobbies: Sports, Music, Fitness

Steve Oliger

57, Retired Electronics Technician

Rating: 1660

Record: 9th (1987), 40th (1988),