July 2026 Recap

Master's Players,

Thank you to ALL the participants Sunday for braving the heat and participating. It was one of the hottest in memory with real feel temps north of 100 degrees almost all day! I think the heat kept some people away, along with some nagging injuries and other last minute conflicts, but still a very strong turnout with 18 guys, matching June attendance. I know I sound like a broken record, but the teams were once again very evenly balanced, as many teams had a chance to be in the finals. I hope to see more former and "soon to be" Master's players who are included in this email at an upcoming tournament this year. At this moment, there are already 8 guys registered for August, and I think we'll have 10 before the end of the day, so the August Masters could be pretty big! Maybe we can get some "out-of-towners" that usually make one a year to travel in for August, hint hint!

Thank you to Steve Devlin as always for supplying the setup equipment, and thank you to Bryan McDermand for being generous to sell AVP balls to us at a steep discount, including free delivery!  

Only one 2026 Remaining Date:

August 30th

7/26/26 Full Results:

1	Prestegaard, Chris / Strietzel, Jason
2	McDermand, Bryan / Koselleck, Joe
3	O'Donnell, Lou / O'Connell, Kevin
4	Oosterbaan, Max / Gordy, Tyler
5	Devlin, Steve / Gawron, Tony
5	Moehr, Jeremy / Stockwell, Tim
7	Drerup, Zach / Gilmore, Scott
7	Pabellon, Dave / Van, Michael
9	Young, Luke / Gaspar, Jeff

Roll Shots:

This will be a handful of my observations/memories /appreciation of the day, and my attempt at some humor-

New players-  Thank you to Kevin O'Connell, and Tony Gawron for joining the tradition of The Master's, glad to officially have you as part of the history! 

Best endurance - I think he knew what he was in for as soon as the draw was over, but congratulations to Joe Koselleck for carrying a significant load all day in the heat, all the way to the finals through the contenders bracket, and playing awesome all day in 11 games, well done Joe! Has someone done a wellness check on Joe!?!?  

Best Fans - It was good to see a number of guys honor the tradition of "sticking to the end" to cheer on their fellow Masters players who made the finals, especially in the heat. I know the players appreciated the extra encouragement. I also appreciate Mike Schmitt (who didn't play due to the weather) still coming out to support the tradition.

Best upset - Steve & Tony were effectively 1-3 in pool play, earning them the #7 seed and having to face the undefeated #2 seed (Bryan/Joe) in the first round of double elimination and they won in dramatic fashion 22-20! Well done!

Best defense - I may be biased on this one, but I was fortunate to witness Jason Strietzel make incredible defensive plays all day, which helped earn him his first Masters victory, Congratulations! I think I should give honorable mention to virtually everyone else, because I witnessed many incredible rally's over the course of the day. 

Most  Thunder- Nice to see Lou O'Donnell back for his once a year visit and make some craters in the Foster Beach sand! As always, Bryan McDermand creates some highlights, unfortunately I was the victim of trying to dig one of them off my chest (I swear I almost dug it! )!

Best post tournament spot: With easy, free parking, Fernando's is the official post-Masters hangout, but was sad to hear when Mike shared it may have an end date as the property may be sold, but we will enjoy it as long as we can. 

Best "hat toss" - I'm aware of the running gamble and you're expecting me to reveal this to be awarded on a solo basis, but I'm happy to report I was not the only one as I was pleased to see Lou O'Donnell join the tradition!  

Most Timeouts- I don't think I remember any Masters with as many in-game timeouts as there were yesterday, clearly supporting my feeling it was one of the hottest events ever.

More players needed:

If you know a player that you would enjoy playing with, and they comply with my "no assholes allowed" policy, please invite them! They will appreciate being a part of this tradition.

Chris

chrisprestegaard1@gmail.com

847-612-4208

P.S. - Constructive feedback is always appreciated, please share.