NO No NO no NO no and NO. I enjoy bashing the APA as much as the next guy, but your brazen dismissal is inappropriate and wrong. He SHOULD be proud of his run (BTW Dawg... congrats! I can't string three-in-a-row together).
From what I have experienced firsthand and from opinions on this forum, a seven SHOULD beat ANY OTHER skill level 80-90% of the time, just as the top-tier of ANY organization or tourney or tour SHOULD be a great leap ahead. Even if APA is completely amateur, there still needs to be a pinnacle of the league to strive towards that is damned difficult to attain.
STILL, I have seen 7s that are inconsistant, a few beers under, or careless who LOSE to a 5 or a 6. It happens and that is why DAWG should be proud of his achievement. Anyone can have a hot night or month, but to be consistant is what I aim for. When I reach this consistancy, THEN I can begin see steps appear to the next plateau.
I am a 4 in 8 and 9 and have played for two sessions in APA on three nights. The most memorable match was playing a 7 who soundly (KA-BOOM) kicked my ass. I NEEDED to see what a SOLID player looked like and what he could do, because I was merely working to be better than the average APA bangers before then. Now I play at least 3 hours a day and still have lots of work to do, but because of that particular 7 in this league, I have a better idea of what I am working towards.