About the Players

Kevin Dwyer
Kevin DwyerKevin Dwyer, photo by Peg Kaplan    Kevin, 23, started to play bridge at age 15 and planned to play just long enough to be better than his brother; somehow he just kept going.  Currently he is a part-time student at Edison State College in Fort Myers, Florida.  Kevin has been teaching bridge for six years and is an experienced international junior player.  In international junior play he has earned a Bronze Medal (Turkey, 2009) and a Silver Medal (Croatia, 2011).  Kevin and his teammates won the mini Spingold (0-5000) in 2009.
Owen Lien
Owen-LienOwen Lien, photo by Peg Kaplan  At age 23, Owen is a veteran of international junior bridge.  He has represented the USA in international competition in Bangkok (2006), Poland (2008), China (2008), Turkey (2009), Taiwan (2010), Philadelphia (2010), and Croatia (2011).  He earned a Bronze Medal in Turkey and Silver in Croatia.  Owen is studying to become a real estate appraiser.
Roger Lee
roger-leeRoger Lee, photo by Peg Kaplan    Roger, 24, graduated from the California Institute of Technology with a degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics.  Currently he is playing bridge full time.  He has been playing about 14 years and has won the USA’s junior team trials four times.  With former junior Josh Donn, Roger won one of the most prestigious pair titles in bridge, the Blue Ribbon Pairs, at the 2011 fall NABC.
Raghavendra Rajkumar
 RajkumarRaghavendra Rajkumar, photo by Peg Kaplan Raghu, 23, started playing bridge a dozen years ago in his native India, where his dad was a top player.  He left India to complete a degree in Computer Science at the University of Virginia and is now in his second year of a PhD program in Computer Science at Cornell.  Although Raghu hasn’t played much bridge in the last couple of years because of commitments to school, he has some high finishes in NABC events in the past (14th and 33rd in the LM Pairs; 6th and 17th in the Fast Pairs).
Marius Agica
Marius-AgicaMarius Agica, photo by Peg Kaplan  Marius, 22, came to the US from his native Romania to attend Pace University, where he will receive his degree in Computer Science and Economics in June.  He started playing bridge at age 12.  At age 17, he was part of the Romanian team that competed in the 2007 Jesolo Youth European Team Championship.  He played for the USA at the Junior World Team Championships in Philadelphia, finishing fourth.  At the World Youth Congress in Croatia in 2011, Marius won two Bronze Medals, one for pairs (with a Romanian partner) and one for teams (on a transnational team).
Mitch Towner
Mitch-TownerMitch Towner Mitch, a 25-year old Texan, will be attending his third junior championship this summer.  He won a Silver Medal in the BAM last year in Croatia.  He holds a master’s degree in finance and is working now toward his PhD (expected in 2014).  Mitch and his dad were second in the 2009 Red Ribbon pairs; he has finished in the overalls in several other national events.
Joel Wooldridge, NPC