Penn
State Revisited 
AC-XIII, Summer 2006
Penn
State Revisited
(June 22-25)
Cramped summer schedules made the planning for this year's ACUP a bit tricky, but could that stop the Cup from its appointed rounds? Absolutely not. The guys returned to Happy Valley to challenge the rainy (and at times violent) weather as well as each other. Last year's rather "odd" Cup at Seven Springs made prognisticating a bit dicey, though there seemed to be a bit better preparation this year. Derek was again healthy, Kevin was refreshed (?) from a week at the shore, Paul had cast off the burdens of teaching teenagers, and Tom... well Tom was very practiced in golf.
These are their stories.
DAY 1, Thursday. Owing to Derek's need to travel to New York on Sunday, he drove up alone and the other two metro-guys met him at Hooters around 5pm to await Kevin, who showed up about an hour later. They filled their stomachs and their eyes and departed around 7pm hoping to get basketball in that evening. A heavy thunderstorm ruined those plans and ripped a few pieces of siding from Kevin's house, as well as rearranging all of his deck furniture. They tried to get secure indoor hoops space, but there were a number of hoops clinics in session, so they watched a bit of "Super Size Me" (this year's ACUP motto), then moseyed over to Northland Bowl around 9:30pm when the league ended. Getting lanes was a snap, and after some warmup, the Cup got finally got underway. The bone-dry lanes from Seven Springs were a far cry from the optimal, oiled conditions at Northland. Perhaps not bowling between Cups is the best strategy for Derek, who opened with a 194 (234 net) to take game one. He cooled in game two where Paul's 161 (215) took the game point. Derek came back with an ACUP record 221 (261) in game three, then Paul had his best score of 194 (248) to take the final game. With all wins and losses tallied, Derek was fortunate (by virtue of tying Kevin in game two) to come out with a .5 margin over Paul for first place points. With a long Friday ahead, they called it quits for the night.
Standings at the end of day 1: Derek 8, Paul 6, Tom 2, Kevin 1.
DAY 2, Friday. Weather was going to be a factor each day, and as the crew drove to Standing Stone in Huntingdon, they had no clear indication of whether they'd get round one in or not. However, despite overcast skies for the entire morning (and a few sprinkles), it was actually a pretty enjoyable round. Paul played his best round right out of the starting gate, and set an ACUP record with a 67 net, four strokes ahead of Derek. They drove back to State College and satisfied their curious cravings for McDonald's food before heading out to find a hoops court. They checked out the IM building (again in use) and attempted to check on Rec Hall, but parking and road accesses were both limited, so they ended up on the new courts in North Halls, still damp and debris-covered from the Thursday night storm and Friday drizzle. Derek reported this was the one event he'd practiced, and his preparation was apparent. After posting just a three-point, 1st quarter lead over Kevin, he sizzled in the second quarter and pulled away, but Kevin held on to second. Paul struggled with arm problems and into last place, while Tom also fell short of his performance from last year. They headed back to Kevin's abode, got cleaned up, and headed to Happies at the G-Man (though not quickly enough for SOME Happies patrons). They spent a few hours there while Margaret repeatedly "dropped her shoe," then conceded that the Spike game was a "bridge-too-far" given the heavy rains, and they retired to the Ale House. Kevin and Margaret took their permanent positions next to Tommy, and the evening got underway. A fun time was had by all, especially when Margaret put a special contribution in the tip jar... Having contributed substantially to the Ale House till, they called it a night to be somewhat ready for Saturday's challenging agenda.
Standings at the end of day 2: Derek 15, Paul 7, Kevin 5, Tom 4.
DAY 3, Saturday. Pop Tarts were the breakfast fare for the second consecutive day, and the guys hit the road a little behind schedule for Belles Springs (Mackeyville) for stroke play. They secured their tee-time and were directed straight to the #1 tee. The course was in surprisingly good shape given the recent rain, and the front nine produced some fairly close play that tightened even further on the back nine. Going into the final hole, Tom and Derek were even, with Kevin just one stroke back. Derek hit a long drive that resulted in a par and a two stroke win over Tom, three over Kevin. After a sizzling 67 net on day one, Paul struggled to an 85 net this round. Then it was time to fill up the gas tank and make another stop at (why not?) McDonalds just off I80, which was filled with many "interesting" patrons. Taking a leisurely drive back to Kev's, it was time to watch a bit of the "other" Cup (World) and rest up before tennis. Derek loosened up with several Brinley miniatures, while the rest of the boys were content with less potent beverages. The late afternoon was very warm and humid at Spring Creek Park, so the ever-adaptive ACUP format was modified to a "first to six points, win by two" definition of a set, with the normal "first to seven points" tiebreaker. Warmups didn't take long as sweats broke out quickly. Derek and Kevin went the distance with Derek taking a narrow win, while Tom tripped Paul in straight sets. Then Kevin dispatched Paul while Derek took Tom. Kevin finished with a sweep of Tom, while Derek had to fight back through a tiebreaker with Paul to take the match. In the final tally, Derek and Kevin accumulated the same number of points, but Derek took first place due to his head-to-head win. Then it was back to Kevin's for a quick shower and over to "Medlar Field at Lubrano Park" for great beers and food during the Spikes crushing of the rival Batavia "Muckdogs" by a final score of 6-1. In addition to the game, there were may "sights" during the evening (see pics page). Then it was back to Kevin's for some Hold'em (special playing deck), pizza, more drinks, and "Team America, World Police." (Hans Brix! Ohhh, noooo..!") Despite Derek's comfortable lead, the Cup was still in the balance with 23 points in play for the final day.
Standings at the end of day 3: Derek 34, Kevin 16.5, Tom 15.5, Paul 11.
DAY 4, Sunday. With 21 skins available to anyone for the final round of match play and the 2 points for 3-round net still in the balance, a great round could produce a massive point accumulation. It was raining when the guys got to the PSU Blue course, which was further compromised by construction. To keep the course competitive, they played from the blue tees and headed out with a twosome in front, and no one behind. Paul "skinned" the front nine despite Tom's net 31 play. Derek was in last place, so he took on an alter ego of "Reckless Abandon." With three outright skins and three straight pars on the back, he climbed from last to first, nipping record-tying Tom (net 67) by a half skin. Kevin secured the $40 "shot of the day" with a 30 foot putt on the front nine that stood up for the rest of the round, and Derek held on to low 3-round net. They tallied the final scorecard and headed to "Quaker Steak and Lube" for the "last supper," watched some more of the "other" Cup at Kevin's, and packed up for departure, Paul and Tom to metro-DC, and Derek to metro-NYC.
Final Standings: Derek 43.5, Tom 20.50, Kevin 19.67, Paul 16.33.
EPILOGUE. Derek magically joined the trophies for the first time as a 4-member competition, but the events were closer than the totals indicate. Bowling was down to the wire between Derek and Paul, while Tom could have dominated golf had he avoided a tragic first round and bettered hole 18 on day two. While Derek was dead last in hoops and bowling with a bum arm last year, he has established the former as his best event. Tennis was another event closer than the points indicate, with Kevin actually tying in event points. Next year will bring a new, five-set tennis event, featuring this year's "first to 6 points, win by 2" format. Think "beach locale" for ACUP XIV in 2007...
2006 Individual Trophy winners:
Derek Derek Derek Derek
