Beer pong athletes push bodies to the limit
Seth Bair, WG'03
Issue date: 10/21/02 Section: Insider
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Three issues dominated pre-tournament discussion: the sundering of Team G-berg, the scheduling of Matt Shulkin's WG'03 engagement party and the inclusion of women participants. First, Team G-berg, Doug "I broke my thumb helping an old lady across the street" Grossberg WG'03 and Lee Grinberg, Penn Law '05, did not participate because of Grinberg's mysterious ailment which left him physically incapable of bearing the rigors of tournament pong. An emotional Grossberg remarked, "Lee and I have been through many battles. It feels strange playing with a new teammate [Burns McKinney WG'03]." Second, Shulkin controversially scheduled his engagement party on the same weekend, putting wedding party member Grossberg in an awkward situation. Reason prevailed with Grossberg skipping the party and affirming the appropriate social hierarchy. He commented, "Pong is a priority. It comes above engagement parties." Finally, in a historic first enabling the event to maintain its corporate sponsorship, women were included in the field. Hootie Johnson was not available for comment, but a confused Scott Bolton WG'03 stated, "I sent my fiancé home."
High quality play during round robin play set the tone for the tournament. Attired in tennis whites with a full complement of head and wrist bands, Bolton and his teammate dispatched an under-rated Will Peppo WG'03 and Alicia Abell 9-5 with strong play from Bolton. The eventual champs overcame Charley French WG'03 and Flanders despite the latter's creative shot making which included bouncing balls off the adjacent wall. After the match, a confident Maclean described his team's strategy, "Identify the weakness, Charley French, and continue hitting to him." Flanders concurred, stating, "I carried the team."
The arrival of Philadelphia's finest interrupted play briefly. Grossberg explained to the officers that it was simply a beer pong tournament and all competitors had tested negative for drugs. Surprisingly, the cops turned down slices of pizza, and play resumed. In a match of stylish outfits, the reconstituted G-bergs, sporting highly flammable disco gear, beat Devin and Leslie O'Reilly. The O'Reilly's wore matching t-shirts from a recent cigarette boat competition they attended in conjunction with their wedding. Devin likened the boats to "penis extenders" and observed that the sport is surprisingly popular among Princeton alums.