advanced squad leader [Updated October 2005]  

 Recon Pre-con 2005 WBC Report    

 2006 Status: pending 2006 GM commitment

JR Tracy, NY

2005 Champion


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Event History
1991    Mike McGrath        91
1992    Perry Cocke      112
1993    Mike McGrath      120
1994    Gary Fortenberry      130
1995    Gary Fortenberry      130
1996    Tom Morin      110
1997    Jeff Coyle        81
1998    Bret Hildebran        81
1999   Steve Pleva        43
2000   Bret Hildebran      42
2001   Paul Sidhu      32
2002   Paul Sidhu      35
2003   J. R. Tracy   

24
2004   Gary Mei      36
2005   J. R. Tracy      27

 Laurels

Rank  Name              From  Last  Total
  1.  Paul Sidhu         NJ    04    204
  2.  Gary Mei           NJ    05    168
  3.  J. R. Tracy        NY    05    186
  4.  Steve Pleva        OH    01     96
  5.  Brett Hildebran    OH    00     96
  6.  Kevin Valerian     MD    03     84
  7.  Jim Stahler        VA    03     48
  8.  Ron Duenski        NJ    04     24
  9.  John Stadick       VA    00     24
 10.  Aaron Cleavin      PA    99     24
 11.  Zeke Crater        VA    05     18
 12.  Jim Mehl           VA    03     18
 13.  Bill Stoppel       VA    05     12
 14.  Gary Trezza        NY    04     12
 15.  Tom Ruta           MA    01     12
 16.  Rich Summers       WI    00     12
 17.  Mark Pitcavage     OH    05     30
 18.  Scott Romanowski   MA    05      6
 19.  Vincent Alonso     VA    03      6
 20.  Ray Woloszyn       NC    02      6
 21.  Andrew Robin       NY    00      6
          

2005 Laurelists

Gary Mei, NJ
2nd

Mark Pitcavage, OH
3rd

Zeke Crater, VA
4th

Bill Stoppel, VA
5th

Scott Romanowski, MA
6th


Past Winners

Perry Cocke, MD
1992

91, '93: Mike McGrath, VA
1999: Steve Pleva, CT

Gary Fortenberry, TX
1994-1995

Tom Morin, MA
1996

Jeff Coyle, VA
1997

Bret Hildebran, OH
1998, 2000

Paul Sidhu, NJ
2001-2002

JR Tracy, NY
2003

Gary Mei, NJ
2004


Recon Takes the First Shots

No - it's really not Recon but the next wave of ASL fans as ASL Starter Kit cranks up. The sounds of dice tinkling in glass are much the same.

The first dice to fall in the nine days of WBC and its Pre-Cons fell on Saturday morning as ASL opened the renewal of friendly hostilities. RECON 2005 saw 27 intrepid Squad Leaders engage in three days of hard-fought competition. While numbers were down a bit, perhaps due to our relocation, the level of play was as high as ever. In the end, 2003 champ J.R. Tracy edged out 2004 winner Gary Mei to claim the top prize. Mark Pitcavage, Zeke Crater, Bill Stoppel and Scott Romanowski rounded out the wood in places 3 through 6.

JR and Gary chose "A Breezeless Day" for their big match. The scenario is on the meaty side with lots of toys for both players and an opportunity for each to test their mettle with an impressive combined arms force .... in short, a perfect scenario for the ASL championship game. Gary had command of the German bad guys with JR defending with the Americans. Victory conditions require the Germans to control ten buildings on board 42 while exiting 70 VPs.

Gary moved forward methodically, using his infantry to clear the way for his armor. Things quickly turned sour, however, as JR killed Gary's JagdPanzer VI and FlammHetzer with early Critical Hits via shots from a Jackson (in motion!) and a Bazooka team, respectively. Gary is as cool as a cucumber over the ASL boards, and he knew he still had the tools to get the job done. He continued to keep the pressure on JR's defending force through the mid-game while positioning for the end-game push into the buildings and off board.

Gary covered his final advance with copious amounts of smoke which drifted due to a light wind that the dice gods served up on this "Breezeless Day". Gary captured seven buildings, but in the end the loss of material left him without enough tools to capture the remaining three buildings while exiting the requisite number of VPs. Hats off to Gary for valiantly defending his title in the face of terrible luck and congratulations to JR for winning a hard fought victory. It was a great game featuring two of the best ASL players around. But watch out - two-time champ Gary Fortenberrry who ruled in the hey day of ASL's 130 player fields was spotted warming up in the Starter Kit event. A comeback may be in the offing!

Thanks also to all of the players who make RECON a great event - ASL, fun, camaraderie, and more ASL! Hope to see you there next year

 GM       Jeff Evich  [2nd Year]    NA
    jmevich@yahoo.com     NA 

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