Team Profiles

USA2 Team Profile

Kevin Bathurst (25): The ‘quiet one’, silent but deadly. Kevin is participating in his third World Junior Championship. He will be tutoring math, science and reading to high school students in Columbia, South Carolina.

Kent Mignocchi (24): A professional bridge player, Kent is an example of the famous saying, ‘Good things come in small packages’. Kent is America’s equivalent of the BBC; if you want to know what is happening, just tune in to Kent.

Joel Wooldridge (24): A student who is studying to be a teacher, Joel is participating in his fifth World Junior Championship. He holds the world record for the most fried chicken eaten in a 30-minute period – 32 pieces.

John Hurd (24): A jolly, happy soul, Johnny enjoys eating Popeye’s chicken. When he is not chumming with his pals he is often seen playing Texas Hold’em (all-in with J-4). When it comes to bridge his best attribute is his defence, while his weakest is the bidding. Playing his third Championship here in Paris, John is the glue of the USA2 team.

John Kranyak (19): Our fashion consultant, John hails from Bay Village, Ohio. He is currently attending Columbia University, wher he is in his sophomore year. Thanks to bridge, John has picked up a knack for backgammon and poker. And also thanks to bridge he has had some good old fun times with girls from Poland, Sweden, Brazil, Canada and, on many occasions, the USA. There is a lot more to come from John Kranyak.

Joe ‘Boo’ Grue (22): Is currently a New Yorker but a Minnesotan by heart. Joe is a good friend and a great person. Boozer can only be described as a compilation of all things from the evil empire. He is also known as zork.

The Egyptian Team

As this is their first international participation, and according to their very young ages, the team is all looking forward to the next Championship in two years time.

Ahmed Yousry (6 years old). Ahmed is a database administrator and loves travelling. He is 23.

Sherif Noshy (5 years old). Sherif is a computer engineer but loves food more than he loves computers. He is 24 years old.

Ahmed Rabie (5 years old). Ahmed is a database administrator but loves bridge more than database. He is 25.

Aly Tawfik (2.5 years old). Aly is an assistant researcher in civil engineering at Cairo University. And loves air and water sports. He is 24.

Hussein Sherif (1.5 years old). Hussein is a business student in Cairo and loves OKBridge. He is 20.

Karim Nabil (1.5 years old). Karim is a commerce student at Alexandria University and loves being left to sleep. He is 22.

Samih Khalil (npc). Samih is an electrical engineer and has been an international bridge player since 1980. However, since 1994 he has been totally devoted to the training of all the Egyptian teams. He is 50 years old and loves French billiards.