ACC Internet Cribbage

	The Top Ten	IRPs	Ts
1.	Tom Lewis	177	15
2.	Scott Buhrow	168	12
3.	Mike Fetchel	156	12
4.	Larry Reed	150	15
5.	Kelly-Ann Burgar	132	12
6.	Marie Harrington	123	5
7.	Billy Barnes	117	13
8.	Lois M. Fosdal	102	10
9.	Erica Millman	99	10
10.	Brian McDonald	93	10

March 2004 wrap-up:
Tom Lewis rode a great month of Internet cribbage into the top position in the 2004 Internet Championship race. Tom's March efforts included one win and three Third Place finishes. Right behind him is Scott Buhrow, who won two separate events in March.

All eleven of our March tournaments were Pegging Pals single elimination events, featuring four-stake (best-of-three) playoff matches. To their credit, ACC members won every one of them. Well done!

Week 1:
The first tournament, on Monday, March 1, went to Scott Buhrow (MrB_IA218) of Louisville, KY. Erik C. Plante (Slik_Erik_ 45), playing in only his second ACC Internet Cribbage tournament, took Second Place, while Tom Lewis (pegfast) of Albuquerque, NM started his great month off with a Third Place finish. Annie Poppe (+Clas_syLady) made her debut as an ACC Internet tournament director, capably handling this 68 player event.

On Thursday, March 4 it was our own Assistant Statistician Lois M. Fosdal (Ezmarelda) of Stoughton, WI taking First Place, prevailing over a nonmember in the Finals to snare 63 big IRPs and a share of the Top Ten. Thomas Ford (DaBoiler401) of Ankeny, IA shared Third Place with Tom Lewis (pegfast). The 85 players were organized by veteran tournament director Donald E. Ellis (+_LoneStar__).

Saturday, March 6, saw Nicholas Cheung (nicholas179) win it all in only his second ACC Internet Cribbage event. Cheung, who hails from Boston, defeated a nonmember in the Finals. Lois M. Fosdal (Ezmarelda) was going for her second consecutive win, but settled for Third Place along with Brian McDonald (badbrian11) of Brimfield, MA. Joan Dulworth (+LovesPeace) directed the 72 player event.

Week 2:
Thursday, March 11 produced another first-time winner in Erica Millman (LadyErica_) of Houston, TX. Erica edged out Frank Ruff (md236far) from Davidsonville, MD in the finals to notch 63 IRPs to Ruff's 45. David R. Smith (DAVESC89) of Acworth, GA took Third Place, good for 30 IRPs in this 88 player event. Smith is the first Georgia resident to crack the Final Four in an ACC Internet Cribbage event. Like all our Thursday night events, this one was directed by our Assistant Statistician Donald E. Ellis (+_LoneStar__).

March 13 brought another of our Saturday afternoon events, which often attract an unusual number of players from the Central and Eastern Time Zones. For the first time in March, ACC members swept the Final Four, led by Internet veteran Marie Harrington (ma_lobs) of Ipswich, MA. Peggy A. Johnson (wy_gal) of Cheyenne, WY took Second Place, while Third Place was shared between Rosemary Daun (riverrose11) of Chilton, WI and two-time ACC Internet Cribbage winner Linda A. Partain (cheeky_parrot1) of Haverhill, MA. In case you didn't notice, we had an all-female Final Four for the first time in an ACC Internet event. The tournament got off to a shaky start as the originally scheduled TD suffered a debilitating computer crash prior to the event and could not make it to MSN Games. The day was saved by Erica Millman (+LadyRope_) who stepped in at the last minute and ran the tournament with some assistance from Peggy A. Johnson (Wy_Gal) and Assistant Commissioner Michael Schell (+Sche11).

Week 3:
March 15 saw 92 players participate in our 4:30 PM PST tournament, one of the largest turnouts for a Monday evening event. A bit of ACC Internet Cribbage history was made when Donna J. Elmer (OMNI_CHICK) took First Place. It was Donna's first victory in an ACC Internet cribbage event, but not the first in her family, as John Elmer had won back on January 22. This appears to make the Elmers, who live in Newberry Springs, CA, our first husband-and-wife winners. Congratulations! Mike Fetchel (mfetchCT425) of Middlefield, CT, and the winner of the season's first tournament, took Second Place. Thomas Ford (DaBoiler401) finished in Third Place for the second time this month, sharing that rung with John F. Reed (eagle_7374) of Milton Freewater, OR. Donald E. Ellis (+_LoneStar__) was the director.

Tom Lewis (pegfast) was the winner on Thursday, March 18. It was Tom's first victory in an ACC online tournament, but not his only trip to the Final Four by any means (see above). The only other ACC member to reach the Final Four was Art Mager (Art_Mgr0) of Unionville VA. Donald E. Ellis (+_LoneStar__) directed this 82 player event.

March 20 gave us another first time winner in Allen Nypen (A0939) of Springfield, OR. It was nice to see Allen reach the top after previous Second and Third Place finishes. Marie Harrington (ma_lobs) narrowly missed her second victory of the month, settling for Second Place. Tom Lewis (pegfast) and Erica Millman (LadyErica_) added to their Final Four appearances by tying for Third. Karen Peake (+Lady_Amber) marked her return from a gratefully brief TD retirement by hosting this 66 player event.

Weeks 4-5:
Thursday nights continue to be a popular time to play Internet cribbage, and March 25 saw 99 players sign up. In the end it was Scott Buhrow (MrB_IA218) prevailing over Mary Ann Milliken (hearsmam) in the Finals. Buhrow's victory was his second of the month, earning him 63 IRPs and helping to move him toward the top of the year-to-date standings. Milliken came away with 45 IRPs in her first visit to the Final Four. Brian McDonald (badbrian11) landed his second Third Place finish of the month, and got 30 IRPs along with Don Eastwood (NC310Crib), who last visited the Final Four on January 30. Donald E. Ellis (+_LoneStar__) was the director.

Saturday, March 27 saw a relatively light crowd of 52 players, perhaps due to some unusually nice continent-wide Spring weather. Timothy Julkowski (Tim_Oregon2854) took advantage of the situation to notch First Place and 45 IRPs. Tim hails from Portland, OR, where he and his father host two fine weekend tournaments every year. Kelly-Ann Burgar (lil_thummper) of Edmonton, AB took Second Place. Burgar, you may recall, won our February 21 event, and promptly joined the ACC under our seven day rule. Burgar's membership paid off as she carted away 30 more IRPs. Donald Olney (olney_1147) of Carievale, SA finished Third and claimed 18 IRPs. In case you're wondering, SA is Saskatchewan, where Olney holds the groundbreaking ACC member number of SA3! Erica Millman (+LadyRope_) was the director.

March 29's event concluded the month with a near-record 102 players. Once again, the Final Four was swept by ACC'ers, with Michael Zaruba (Michael_Zaruba) of Auburn, NE taking First Place in what was only his second online ACC event. Dan Marsh (oldan1) of Eugene, OR finished Second, while Rick Montague (Monty21863) of Holden, MA and the ubiquitous Marie Harrington (ma_lobs) enhanced Massachusetts's cribbage-playing profile by tying for Third. Karen Peake (+Lady_Amber) hosted the event.

In all, over 150 ACC members have participated in ACC Internet events this season, and the number grows each month. Thanks to all of you for getting our inaugural season off to such a fine start!