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1st Thomas Reinke enjoyed his second straight week at the top of the weekly standings thanks to a 4-1 +381 record. Most of his spread came from a round-one excursion against Helen Flores which he won by a score of 555 to 296. Helen, to her credit, did get down a bingo of QUEEREST, while Thomas had NEMESIA, DEFAULT, and BELEAPS. Thomas' sole loss was a (relatively low-scoring) nailbiter against his brother Charles Reinke, a game in which Charles prevailed 360-356. Thomas would later get his revenge by beating Charles 461-368.

2nd Charles Reinke went 3-1 with a tame +28 total spread. He won a squeaker against Bryan Benwitz in the first round, 415-404, despite getting outbingoed two to one (AEROSOLS for Charles, DEVOICES and CLEMATIS for Bryan). The major success of Charles' night came against Dennis Lloyd in a 459-383 win. Dennis fought gamely with his bingos of OUTLETS and TWINGES (the latter for a bruising 98 points), but Charles couldn't be stopped with his four-bingo assualt of EROSION, PLETHORA, OVERHUNT, and EASELED (the last of which was later turned into WEASELED, much to Dennis' benefit).

Bryan Benwitz gets special mention for his anomalous 1-2 +298 record, wherein he averaged 491 points per game. A 482-506 loss against Thomas in the second round and a 588-point game in the third round contributed to this heinous aberration. Bryan also played the word of the week with CLEMATIS (which is just CLIMATES with the vowels creatively rearranged).

1st Thomas Reinke rebounded from the previous week's 1-3 effort to go 4-0 +364, not only earning the collective respect of the Scrabble-playing masses, but also taking home the fabled (and wholly fabricated) "undefeated trophy", which is made out of solid gold. The glory of his achievement is somehow greatened by the fact that his four wins were achieved in just three rounds, as club was adjourned early due to the threat of severe weather. Thomas' best game came against Dave Kinzer in the first round, where he won 498-297, thanks to bingos of ENROLLER, THIOUREA, and INEDITED. INEDITED means "unpublished", so do not try to play INEDITS*. Thomas also enjoyed a close 419-416 win against his brother Charles Reinke, playing WINGOVER, DOTTING, and ACHIOTES to secure the victory (and temporary bragging rights).

2nd Charles Reinke averaged a spiffy 457 points per game en route to a 3-1 +526 record. A 463-320 win against Bryan Benwitz (playing ENDEAVOR, BELADIES, and SUTURES) was a good way to start things off, but the aforementioned defeat at the hands of the other Reinke put to rest Charles' private yearning for a perfect record. Round 3 saw Charles play in a 2-on-1 against Sue Goldstein and Helen Flores, and the result was very favorable for Charles, as he accumulated four more bingos and almost 400 points in spread between the two games.

Dennis Lloyd was awarded word of the week for INITIATE, which, while a common word, is notable for being comprised of letters that would cause most Scrabble players to give up. Can any among us honestly say that we would look at AEIIINTT and think to ourselves "I can bingo this turn"?

1st Charles Reinke celebrated the return of in-person Scrabble, and the beginning of a new club season, by putting up an undefeated record reminiscent of the pre-pandemic times, going 4-0 +405. His largest win was against visiting Iowan Mike Johnson, 438-244, getting down bingos of TRINDLE and AHIEVED. Charles, finding players from Iowa very easy to defeat, encourages Mike to bring along more of them next time he visits Madison. A game against Helen Flores was similarly successful for the first-place finisher, as he took her down 493-321. Helen played PLUNGER, but was turned away by Charles' bingos of VERTISOL and HORSIES.

2nd Bryan Benwitz played a reduced slate of three games but nevertheless finished second with a 2-1 +186 final tally. Similar to the feats described in the above paragraph, Bryan's best game was against Helen Flores, 506-324. A significant chunk of those 506 points came from a 149-point triple-triple STRIDDEN. Bryan hardly slowed down as he then ran up against Thomas Reinke and again walked away victorious, 475-394. His trio of MATRICES, PUNSTER, and TRICKLY were more than enough to overcome Thomas' odd-looking, but valid, VISIBLES. A perfect record proved elusive, however, as a certain visiting Iowan managed to defeat Bryan in his final game by a score of 414-337.

Mike Johnson got word of the week with TSOORIS, played in a one-point win against Lynda Finn that involved a crucial Q-stick. His nine-letter RUMINATES against Thomas Reinke was also in consideration for the honor.