MCA Targeting Three Events After Annual Meeting

The Midwest Croquet Association held its 2023 AGM on February 11, 2023, in Leawood, Kansas, to outline plans for the 2023 season. The meeting featured a discussion on the mission of the Midwest Croquet Association and how the organization can support clubs and events in the area.

In addition, elections were held and Dylan Goodwin was re-elected as a board member and president, with Jodi Adams also being re-elected to the board to continue in her role as treasurer. Valerie Andruss was also re-elected to her position as a board member, while Greg Clouse and Justin Marciniak also join the board. Both have previously served on the MCA Board.

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2021 KC Open Game Schedules

The 2021 Kansas City Open game schedules are set with 12 players battling in the Pro Division on Saturday morning with an 8:30 a.m. start time. We'll run four blocks of three and advance all players to the afternoon playoff. Four players have a late start in the morning thanks to a bye round. (Matt Griffith, Greg Clouse, Dylan Goodwin and Greg Adams)
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2021 KC Open: Full Speed Ahead

The Eighth Annual Kansas City Open Nine Wicket Series tournament is set to return to the pre-pandemic format with two days of play at Kactus Creek Croquet Club on July 24-25, 2021. The KC Open has become an annual tradition where the best croquet players in Kansas City battle for bragging rights on the finest court in the metro. Don’t miss out on the best croquet event of the year!

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2020 KC Open: A Griffith Double

KC Open Pro Finalists: Bryce Millican and Matt GriffithTOP SEEDS FALL EARLY

PARKVILLE, MO -- The shortened version of the Kansas City Open ran smooth this past Saturday at Kactus Creek Croquet Club and the event saw Matt Griffith and Ellie Griffith defend their home court.

The Pro and Gold Divisions started together in an open bracket with losers from round one moving into a Gold playoff. Winners in that round advanced in the Pro Playoff and faced off against the top four seeds -- all of whom had a bye in the first round. The quarterfinals produced a lot of excitment as two the top seeds were upset. 

PHOTOSPRO PLAYOFF | GOLD PLAYOFF | SCORESHEET

Ron Millican came out of round one with a 24-11 win over Colton Lennard and to face #3 seed Greg Clouse. Millican was previously 1-5 versus Clouse, but he came through with a 15-12 upset and now has taken two-in-a row vs Clouse. The bigger surprise though occurred in the top half of the bracket where #9 seed Bryce Millican advanced to face #1 Matt Smith. This tournament represented the first Pro action for Millican, while Smith came in with a 22-2 record. Millican shocked the veteran with a 21-13 upset to advance to the semifinals.

I played Millican in that round and we had a nice long outgame, where I theoretically had the upper hand. Millican kept his composure though and stayed clean, while I picked up enough deadness to stall out. He was clever enough to avoid the clearing wicket as the clock wound down and took a 16-13 win to advance to the final.

Matt Griffith was the only top seed to perform his duty as he advanced in round one 27-11 over Jodi Adams and then got into a bit of tussle with Ron Millican in the semifinals, but advanced 18-14.

He was in top form in the final though and utilized an early two-ball break and out of bounds croquet shot error by Bryce to roll to a 32-2 perfect score pegout win. It was Griffith's fourth KC Open title and record 11th Nine Wicket Series Pro tournament win.

GOLD BRACKET

The Gold Playoff semifinals squared off on the north court and Jim Ratzlaff and Colton Lennard got into a high-scoring battle with newcomer Lennard. Lennard prevailed with an impressive 26-24 victory. The other semi had a similar matchup with newcomer Valerie Andruss taking on veteran Ellie Griffith -- two-time Gold 9WS champion. Griffith was on form and took a 24-9 win to advance to the final.

She continued the form there and defeated Lennard 25-15 to claim repeat as the KC Open Gold Division champion and secure the sweep for the Griffiths.

NOTES

  • Matt Griffith became the first player to reach 2,000 9WS Pro points -- reaching 2,016 in the title game.
  • Jodi Adams came into the 2020 KC Open with 664 career Pro Points and 10th on the all-time list. She scored 36 on Saturday to reach 700 career points and move ahead of Paul Miller for ninth on the all-time list.
  • Dylan Goodwin and Ron Millican kept active 9WS streaks alive are the only two players to have played in all 27 events.
  • The event had 12 entries which exceeded expectations considering the COVID-19 global pandemic. 15 total players showed interest.

 

KC Open COVID-19 Guidelines

For this Saturday’s Kansas City Open, the following guidelines are in place in order to keep all players and spectators safe and healthy. Players or spectators with cold symptoms (fever or cough) or that are under quarantine restrictions should not attend the event. Please notify the tournament manager at kccroquetclub@gmail.com if you need to withdraw due to illness or quarantine.
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2020 KC Open Start Times

PARKVILLE, Mo.—Full schedules for the 2020 Kansas City Open are now available. Games will begin at 8:30 a.m. this Saturday, July, 25, 2020. Registration is open at 7:45 a.m. and the MCA asks that players plan to arrive 30 minutes before their first game. The tournament will be played as an open knockout, seeded by rating, with losers in the first round moving into a Gold knockout, while the Pro (open) knockout proceeds. PRO PLAYOFF BRACKET GOLD PLAYOFF BRACKET
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KC Open Gold Report: Hard-Fought Title Game

The 2019 Kansas City Open wrapped up earlier today with tightly contested 16-15 Gold Championship Final with Ellie Griffith taking the title over Justin Marciniak. The event played out at Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri, it was Griffith's fifth straight appearance in a Gold Division title game where she has now won three out of five finals.

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2019 KC Open Start Times Announced

PARKVILLE, Mo.—KC Open games will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

As of this writing, the MCA board is finalizing a solution to the Pro Division schedule. As a consequence, the Pro and Gold division matchups and schedules are subject to change. Regardless, players should be ready for tournament action to begin at 8 a.m. each day. The MCA asks that players plan to arrive 30 minutes before their first game.

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KC Open Pro Report: Swiss Battle Royale

The 2018 Kansas City Open Pro Division offered a day designed for the croquet hardcore. Matt Griffith and I squared off in the final yesterday at about 5:30 p.m. at Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri, after playing five straight games. In total, we played eight hours of croquet with about 15 minutes for a quick lunch after round two.
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2017 KC Open: Griffith Clinches Pro 9WS

With the dust settling on a big weekend of action at the Kansas City Open held at the Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri, the numbers all add up to a three-peat for Matt Griffith in the MCA Nine Wicket Series as he now leads the overall race by more than the 96 points that will be available at the MCA Championship in September.
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2017 KC Open Gold: Jackson's Perfect Day

The MCA Gold Division took to the court for the second half of the Kansas City Open this morning at 8:30 a.m. Five rounds later, Steve Jackson stood tall as the winner as he went 5-0 and won three straight on the King of the Mountain (KOM) court. The 10-player format on two courts acted like a Swiss while awarding more points each round for the winners v winners games. By round three, that created a KOM court that awarded six points per win and a secondary court that offered three points per win. Players that took a loss in the early rounds had a path back to the top of the mountain.
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2017 KC Open: Early Pro Report

PARKVILLE, MO -- Matt Griffith took the 2017 Kansas City Open Pro Division title with a tight 19-17 win over Billy Bob Breeden at Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri. Griffith has now won three of the four Kansas City Open Pro titles and a record seven MCA Pro titles. Griffith advanced to the final after a 23-16 win over Dylan Goodwin. Breeden made it to the final after winning 24-22 thriller over Greg Adams in the semifinals.

Tomorrow the action resumes as the Gold players will hit the courts at 8:30 a.m. look to gain slots in the final eight for the MCA Gold Championship in September.