U.S. Wins Top Team Titles

The United States has won its seventh consecutive Bermuda Bowl contract bridge world team championship, defeating Britain in a match that went down to the wire.

The American team won Saturday, 354-290. The match was close until the end of the 176-deal three-day battle. In the final 16 deals, the Americans outscored their opponents 58-8.

A U.S. team also won the Venice Cup world contract bridge women’s team championship for the first time since 1978. The Americans held off a last-ditch rush by France to win the 128-deal match Friday night, 251-219.

Members of the U.S. Bermuda Bowl team were Bobby Wolff and Bob Hamman of Dallas, Chip Martel of Davis, Lew Stansby of Castro Valley and Hugh Ross of Oakland. The sixth player, Peter Pender of San Francisco, had to withdraw from the team because of illness. He was replaced by Mike Lawrence of Berkeley. The non-playing captain was Dan Morse of Houston.

In the Venice Cup, two of the Americans, Kathie Wei of Houston and Judi Radin of New York, were winning their third world championship. The other four players all were playing in their first Venice Cup. They are Lynn Deas and Juanita Chambers of Schenectady, N.Y., Beth Palmer of Silver Spring, Md., and Cheri Bjerkan of Chicago. The non-playing captain was Carol Sanders of Nashville, Tenn.