Sherif Abdelwahab
The USCA has announced Sherif Abdelwahab, Stephen Morgan, Matt Griffith and Carl Uhlman as selections for the 2015 WCF World Golf Croquet Championship to be held February 7-15, 2015 in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Abdelwahab, earned a ranking position in the event, while Morgan was awarded one of the wildcard positions.
2014 Midwest Regional Champ George Cochran in action on day oneTULSA, OKLAHOMA -- The 2014 USCA Midwest Regionals held this past weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma, nearly avoided rain, but with about 20 minutes left in the championship games the sky opened up.
David McCoy beat Matt Griffith 7-5, 7-6 to claim the championship flight at the Croquet Week GC tournament. In first flight, Mike Sexton beat Bill Bromley 7-4, 7-1 for first place. (Full Results)
Croquet Week continues on with the annual planning meeting on Tuesday. Friday night is the annual awards ceremony, but the main event is the Club Teams Championship which kicks off Wednesday.
The USCA National Club Teams Croquet Championships will be held on the lawns at the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, Florida on March 12-16. Ninety players from clubs throughout the United States are expected to compete in five flights in this doubles only event on the Center’s courts. Teams not only compete for victory in their respective flight but are also competing for the coveted Lyons Trophy, which is awarded to the top clubs in three divisions.
SHAWNEE, KS -- The final day of playoff action at the Nine Wicket Nationals in Kansas City saw steady rain, but the players battled through. In championship singles, Matt Smith knocked of Billy Bob Breeden to make the final, while Matt Baird took out George Cochran to advance.
In the final match, Baird got the first break but stuffed number five. That let Smith set up his break which he ran all the way out to the penultimate wicket. He then turned it over to his partner and finished with a double peel to claim the 2011 singles national championship.
In doubles championship play, Matt Baird and Jeff Caldwell battled Billy Bob Breeden and Matt Griffith in the final. Baird and Caldwell took a tight match 32-25 to claim the doubles title.
In the first flight singles playoff, #4 seed Jason Cole knocked off #1 Greg Adams in the semifinals. In the other semi-final, #2 Barry Dupuy beat #4 Ron Millican to advance. Cole won the final over Dupuy to claim the first flight national championship.
Video report will be available later today.
The rain hit Nine-Wicket Nationals on Saturday, but play continued on with both championship and first flight doubles action. First flight wrapped up their segment with Greg Adams and Troy White taking first place in the round-robin format. Ron and Debbie Millican took second place in the flight.
This morning is playoff and championship action, but there is steady rain falling, likely making for miserable condition's at the courts in Shawnee, Kansas. Championship singles semi-finals were scheduled to start at 8:00 a.m. with Matt Smith set to face Billy Bob Breeden and Matt Baird slated to take on reigning champ George Cochran.
Four teams of eight advanced to the knockout in championship doubles on day two. The semi-finals were played mid-afternoon and Billy Bob Breeden and Matt Griffith knocked off Matt Smith and Nick Zink 31-23 to advance to today's final against Matt Baird and Jeff Caldwell. Baird and Caldwell advanced by defeating Bill Martin and John Warlick 29-26.
The first flight singles playoff is also scheduled for the morning with Greg Adams taking on Jason Cole and Barry Dupuy facing off against Ron Millican.
Day One Photo Gallery
Day one was played under gray skies and cool conditions, but for the most part rain was avoided. Championship singles block play concluded and round one of the playoffs was held at the end of the day (results below). Saturday starts doubles play.
Quarterfinals
Matt Smith 32-17 over Don Brooks
Billy Bob Breeden 28-25 over Jeff Caldwell
Matt Baird 27-26 over Greg Clouse
George Cochran 32-26 over Matt Griffith
Semi-Final Matchups
Matt Smith vs Billy Bob Breeden
Matt Baird vs George Cochran
PARKVILLE, MO -- As a full-blooded Jayhawk, it pains me to post this, but look at the media exposure Midwest Regional VP Matt Griffith and his Kactus Creek Croquet Club got from hosting the Kansas City Catbackers (a local Kansas State fan club). The Wildcats head basketball coach Frank Martin was on hand and that brought interview the local NBC station. Looks like K-State is moving up, but can they ever get the Alumni Cup back.
Get ready for the August MacRobertson Shield competition by checking out the official MacRobertson Shield website. The website contains the full schedule for the event, information on the venues and teams. It also has a commentary section that suggests it will provide updates on the event. Thirteen additional countries are expected to participate in Tiers 2, 3 and 4 of the expanded event.
Kansas City's Matt Griffith won the election for VP of the USCA's midwest region over John Dill from Dallas, Texas.
Robert V. Salinas has introduced a line of croquet clothing. It looks to be nice quality, but I'm not sure about the golf style stance in the main logo. Probably a notch better than the "croquet" shirts offered by Duncan Quinn.