Lee Soreng of Eugene Oregon earned the Gold Points she needed to achieve Life Master at the first ever I/N Sectional in Eugene in June playing with good friend and longtime partner, Connie Wonham.
Lee learned bridge as a child, playing when her parents needed a fill-in. Years later she moved to Eugene with her daughter and near her parents. Once there, they decided to take up both bridge and another hobby of her parents, fly fishing.
Lee’s daughter has since moved to Florida where she works as an emergency vet. She still fly fishes but doesn’t play much bridge!
About 20 years ago Lee began playing Chicago style bridge with Connie and friends. Through word of mouth, they discovered the Emerald Bridge Club (EBC) and began playing there from time to time. It was at that club that owner/teacher Don Marsh encouraged Lee and Connie both to join the ACBL. The master points required to become Life Master were about to go up to 500, so he urged them to join before the deadline. Thanks Don!
Connie and Lee have been playing at EBC since joining, earning a few black points. They had to travel to tournaments to win any significant number of points – and any colored points. Gold has been tough to come by as Eugene only hosts one Regional per year and others are far away.
As a retired cancer genetics researcher, Lee is used to keeping busy. Besides bridge and fly fishing, she also plays tennis and volunteers for meals on wheels. Lee’s parents still live close by and are in their 90’s. They’re still playing bridge twice a week at the country club!
Lee says about the game, “Bridge keeps the brain going – there’s always more to learn – you’ll always think you don’t know enough. You’ll never really get ‘good’ because the goalpost just keeps moving. The challenge is what makes it fun.”
It was always Lee’s hope that she and Connie would achieve Life Master together. But Connie is still a bit short of gold, so the pair will try again this December at the Palm Springs Regional. Wish them both luck! And many congratulations to Lee for achieving this milestone.
