With the open swiss still in progress, the following twelve players have qualified for the singles knockout at the British Open:
5/5 Reg Bamford
5/6 Ben Rothman
5/6 Mark Avery
5/6 Robert Fulford
5/6 Samir Patel
5/7 Danny Huneycutt
5/7 David Maugham
5/7 Jamie Burch
5/7 Jeff Soo
5/7 Kevin Beard
5/7 Robin Brown
5/7 Rutger Beijderwellen
More results available on the Croquet Association website:
http://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=news/newsdb.asp&NewsID=3790
The U.S. now leads 9-6 and is two wins away from overall victory. The U.S. picked up the ninth match when Jim Bast defeated Ian Lines +25, +3. Great Britain is still hanging tough though as David Maugham took down Danny Huneycutt +13TP, +3. Updates the rest of the day will be posted in the comments of this thread. Add your own commentary if you so desire.
US 8-5: BURRIDGE (GB) beat SOO (US) +17,+15
US 9-5: BAST (US) beats LINES (GB) +25,+3
US 9-6: MAUGHAM (GB) vs HUNEYCUTT (US) +13TP, +3
ROTHMAN (US) vs MULLINER (GB) +13
LE MOIGNAN (GB) vs GRIMSLEY (US) +3
PATEL (GB) vs PATMORE (US) +7
U.S. officially retains the Solomon Trophy with an 11-6 win. American captain Danny Huneycutt got the 11th match with a win over Stephen Mulliner +2, +4. Full test scores are available on the Croquet Association website:
The day started with a 4-3 lead for Great Britain, but the U.S. swept the third round of doubles and also won the both of the resumed matches. The Croquet Association website reported that Great Britain won just one of the nine games played today.
Tomorrow is the final day of play with six singles games to start, two pegged down singles games and one pegged down doubles match on the schedule. The US needs to win three to of the nine matches to win their second straight Solomon Trophy.
ROUND THREE DOUBLES
SOO & PATMORE (US) beat LINES & PATEL (GB) +15, +3
GRIMSLEY & ROTHMAN (US) beat BURRIDGE & MAUGHAM (GB) +16, +14
HUNEYCUTT & BAST (US) beat MULLINER & LE MOIGNAN (GB) +3, +6
RESUMED GAMES
PATMORE & SOO (US) beat LE MOIGNAN & MULLINER (GB) +26TP (P), -21TP (M), +22
GRIMSLEY & ROTHMAN (US) beat LINES & PATEL (GB) +1, +17
ROTHMAN COMMENTS
Ben Rothman posted the following comments on the Croquet World Forum:
To those wondering why no one seems to be "on form" yet (failing hoops and putting down triples etc.) I invite you to come try the Hamptworth lawns. If you mowed Ren Kraft's [Arizona] court bare and set the hoops at contact, you would find it more managable than lawns 3 and 4 here.
Mulliner took it upon himself to reset the hoops to a 64th of an inch clearance and seems to enjoy checking hoops to reveal a few photons of light through and declaring any claim of contact hoops "over ruled".
That being said, our team is staying mentally strong (although I am a bit of an exception as I mutter to myself on the sidelines like a psych patient). We have tied the test at 4-4 and we are tied or ahead in the seven matches in progress.
They've started day three with the third round of doubles action, meaning rounds two and three have been left to be completed at a later time. Early scores:
SOO & PATMORE (US) beat LINES & PATEL (GB) +15 lead 1-0
GRIMSLEY & ROTHMAN (US) beat BURRIDE & MAUGHAM (GB) +16 lead 1-0
HUNEYCUTT & BAST (US) beat MULLINER & LE MOIGNAN (GB) +3 lead 1-0
First round scores:
GB 1-0: Burridge/Maugham beat Patmore/Soo +15, +5TP
GB 2-0: Le Moignan/Mulliner beat Grimsley/Rothman -2TP (Rothman), +3TP (Mulliner), +1
GB 2-1: Bast/Huneycutt beat Lines/Patel -5, +17, +8
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The action never stops in the world of croquet, but this week we've got a big one on deck. It's Solomon Trophy time and Great Britain is looking for revenge after the U.S. ended the U.K. reign by winning their first test in the series in December of 2009 on a rainy final day in Rancho Mirage, California. As we head into the 2011 Solomon test, both teams are sporting strong line-ups, so we could be treated to another thriller as the American team will be desperate to hold onto their hard-earned trophy. The event will be hosted by Great Britain at the Hamptworth Golf Club and Country Club near Salisbury. Great Britain leads the series 17-1. You can review the 2009 series in the free digital edition
The Draw for the Open Singles Swiss is as follows:
Chris Patmore v Paddy Chapman
Graham Gale v Jeff Dawson
Nigel Polhill v Ian Vincent
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The new issue of Croquet Network magazine is now available for free viewing as a digital magazine on your PC or laptop. Click the magazine graphic above to enjoy the December/January issue.
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Danny Huneycutt protected his #1 U.S. ranking by snagging a 2-1 match victory over Ben Rothman at the USCA Association Rules National Championship at Mission Hills in California this past weekend. Rothman didn't get blanked though as he partnered with Doug Grimsley to take a 2-1 victory (+13tp, -14tp, +17tp) over Bob Van Tassell and Johnny Mitchell for the doubles title. You can check out Rothman's full report in the Croquet World Online Forum.
In weekend U.K. action, Rob Fulford took the Colchester Open with a 6-2 record that was matched only by David Maugham. Fulford won the head-to-head match to claim the title.
Earlier this month, Stephen Mulliner took the Surbiton Golf Croquet tournament with a 7-4, 7-3 victory over Nelson Morrow in the finals. Knockout results:
Stephen Mulliner beat William Gee 7-1 7-4
Andrew Johnson beat Roger Barnacle 7-2 6-7 7-6
Howard Cheyne beat Dick Stover 7-5 5-7 7-4
Nelson Morrow beat Jamie Burch 7-4 7-2
Mulliner beat Johnson 7-3 7-4
Morrow beat Cheyne 7-5 7-6
Mulliner beat Morrow 7-4 7-3
The Great Britain Team for the 2010 MacRobertson Shield is:
Keith Aiton (C)
Rutger Beijderwellen
Chris Clarke
Robert Fulford
David Maugham
Stephen Mulliner
Reserves to be determined.