BELTON, MO -- A full report will be available later this weekend. Today's winners:
MCA Pro Points Race - Paul Miller
MCA Championship - Paul Miller
MCA Gold Points Race - Jason Johnson
MCA Gold Championship - Jodi Adams
MCA Six-Ball Championship - Dylan Goodwin
The match-ups and times are set for the Pro Division Championship Playoff to be held Saturdary, September 14 at Markey Park in in Belton, MO. The play-off is single-elimination. Lunch is not included, but there will be a gap provided for all players and there plenty of restaurant options near the facility. The event is free for qualified MCA members. Non-members that have qualified will simply need to join the MCA and can do that by paying the membership fee of $20 Saturday morning.
Quarterfinals - 8:30 a.m.
#1 Paul Miller vs #8 Jodi Adams
#4 Robert Fournier vs #5 Ron Millican
#3 Dylan Goodwin vs #6 Greg Adams
#2 Greg Clouse vs #7 Deborah Millican
Semi-Finals - 9:45 a.m.
1-8 winner vs 4-5 winner
3-6 winner vs 2-7 winner
Pro Division Final - Noon
A six-ball (cut-throat) will run during this event as well. The first match in six ball will start at 10:00 a.m. and will include Bill Berg and Keith Berg. Debbie Millican will also be in this match if she is available. The rest of that match will be filled with losing players from the first round of the pro bracket. The second six ball match will be scheduled as players are available with the six-ball championship taking place at 2:45 p.m.
The match-ups and times are set for the Gold Division Championship Playoff to be held Saturdary, September 14 at Markey Park in in Belton, MO. The play-off is single-elimination. Lunch is not included, but there will be a gap provided for all players and there are plenty of restaurant options near the facility. The event is free for qualified MCA members. Non-members that have qualified will simply need to join the MCA and can do that by paying the membership fee of $20 Saturday morning.
Wildcard - 9:45 a.m.
#4 Justin Marciniak vs #5 Jodi Adams
Semi-Finals - 11:00 a.m.
#1 Bill Berg vs Wildcard Winner
#2 Debbie Millican vs #3 Keith Berg
Gold Division Final - 1:30 p.m.
A six-ball (cut-throat) will run during this event as well. The first match in six ball will start at 10:00 a.m. and will include Bill Berg and Keith Berg. Debbie Millican will also be in this match if she is available. The rest of that match will be filled with losing players from the first round of the pro bracket. The second six ball match will be scheduled as players are available with the six-ball championship taking place at 3:00 p.m.
MCA players may have noted that the USCA updated the nine-wicket rulebook in mid-season. For consistency, the MCA will continue with the 2007 edition rules as played in the three previous events through the end of the 2013 season.
The new revisions made by the USCA will be evaluated by the board during the winter and a decision will be made as to whether or not we will follow the USCA's update or create a set of MCA Nine-Wicket Rules.
Link to the new USCA Nine-Wicket Rules:
http://www.croquetamerica.com/croquet/rules/backyard/
The 2013 MCA Championship will be played at Markey Park in Belton, MO on Saturday, September 14. The event will feature a single-elimination tournament for the top eight finishers in the Pro Division and another single elimination bracket for the top finishers in the Gold Division. Seeds will be based on standings in the points race and invitations will sent this week to begin confirming the line-up.'
To ensure more than one game for a all players, the event will also feature a six-ball cut-throat tournament that will begin in the afternoon for players eliminated in the early rounds of each bracket. The initial thought was to run a doubles bracket, but six ball will provide a quicker option and also ties to the roots of the MCA and Kansas City Croquet.
Starting times will be announced once the line-ups have been set.
FREE FOR MEMBERS
The MCA Championship is a free tournament for MCA members. Non-members will simply be asked to join the MCA at the $20 membership rate in order to participate.
PARKVILLE, MO -- MCA member Greg Clouse took first place at the 40th Edition of the Kansas City Invitational Tournament held this past Saturday in Parkville, MO. The event was six-ball (cutthroat) croquet. Overall, the MCA had three members in the final as Jodi Adams took fourth place and Ron Millican took sixth. Full results:
1. Greg Clouse 2. Brian Wolkey 3. Sandra Gruefe 4. Jodi Adams 5. Brian Mondt 6. Ron Millican
| Rank | First | Last | GP | Wins | Losses | Total Wickets | Wicket Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul | Miller | 14 | 10 | 4 | 309 | 22.07 |
| 2 | Greg | Clouse | 13 | 9 | 4 | 282 | 21.69 |
| 3 | Dylan | Goodwin | 14 | 9 | 5 | 272 | 19.43 |
| 4 | Robert | Fournier | 13 | 7 | 6 | 261 | 20.08 |
| 5 | Ron | Millican | 12 | 6 | 6 | 235 | 19.58 |
| 6 | Greg | Adams | 8 | 3 | 5 | 133 | 16.63 |
| 7 | Matt | Smith | 4 | 4 | 0 | 103 | 25.75 |
| 8 | Debbie | Millican | 5 | 3 | 2 | 99 | 19.80 |
| 9 | Jason | Johnson | 5 | 1 | 4 | 91 | 18.20 |
| 10 | Carl | Distefano | 5 | 0 | 5 | 77 | 15.40 |
| 11 | Jodi | Adams | 4 | 0 | 4 | 66 | 16.50 |
| 12 | Bill | Berg | 5 | 1 | 4 | 55 | 11.00 |
| 13 | Keith | Berg | 3 | 0 | 3 | 41 | 13.67 |
| 14 | S. Jason | Cole | 3 | 1 | 2 | 40 | 13.33 |
| Rank | First | Last | GP | Wins | Losses | Total Wickets | Wicket Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason | Johnson | 8 | 6 | 2 | 170 | 21.25 |
| 2 | Bill | Berg | 9 | 5 | 4 | 148 | 16.44 |
| 3 | Deborah | Millican | 8 | 6 | 2 | 141 | 17.63 |
| 4 | Keith | Berg | 5 | 1 | 4 | 71 | 14.20 |
| 5 | Justin | Marciniak | 4 | 0 | 4 | 59 | 14.75 |
| 6 | S. Jason | Cole | 2 | 1 | 1 | 37 | 18.50 |
| 7 | Carl | Distefano | 2 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 11.00 |
Miller and Clouse in the Pro FinalLEAWOOD, KS -- Paul Miller took his second straight MCA tournament with a 28-16 win over Greg Clouse in the Pro Division Final of the PeakVision Leawood Challenge. In the Gold Division, Deborah Millican took the title with a 21-7 win over Bill Berg in the final.
PHOTO GALLERY | OFFICIAL SCORESHEET
In the Pro Division final, Clouse looked to be in good shape as he ran his break through the turn until he croqueted a ball out of bounds near 11PW from the turn stake area with a hand shot. That's right, Clouse got enough power on the nine-wicket style hand stop shot to travel at least 30 feet. Of course, the game was held on court two which was the fastest of the three courts, and in this case it was costly for Clouse.
He did have a chance later in the game, but he roqueted his partner to work on an attack toward blue with his red ball. Unfortunately, he was dead on blue and in an odd twist Miller mentioned it to him before he actually hit the blue ball. Still, it was a damaging error and it helped Miller snatch control of the game.
Not only was it Miller's second straight tourney win, but he's also got a nine-game winning streak going as he was a perfect 6-0 in the event.
Gold FinalistsGold Final Experiences Sequence Issues
The Gold Division Final between Berg and Millican will mainly be remembered for a lengthy delay due to a potential out of sequence play midway through the game. Unfortunately, although something appeared to be out of whack, neither player could piece together the actual sequence error.
Play had to continue as the balls lay. It seemed to fire up Millican though as she went on a tear shortly after to roll to a 21-7 win. Berg was the only player to work in six games during the event so fatigue could have also been a factor.
Prize Package
Click to Find Out More About PeakVision's SD7 ModelKansas City Croquet Club member Paul Moore and CEO/Founder of PeakVision Sports came through with a great set of prizes. Finalists in both divisions were each awarded a of pair PeakVision Sunglasses.
Pro Playoff Results
ROUND ONE
#3 Robert Fournier over #6 Greg Adams 27-15
#4 Ron Millican over #5 Dylan Goodwin 21-17
SEMI-FINALS
#2 Greg Clouse over #3 Robert Fournier 22-21
#1 Paul Miller over #4 Ron Millican 28-14
FINAL
#1 Paul Miller over #2 Greg Clouse 28-16
Gold Playoff Results
ROUND ONE
#4 S. Jason Cole over #5 Keith Berg 23-12
#3 Bill Berg over #6 Carl Distefano 10
SEMI-FINALS
#1 Deborah Millican over #4 S. Jason Cole 22-14
#3 Bill Berg over #2 Jason Johnson 15-11
FINAL
#1 Deborah Millican over #3 Bill Berg 21-7
The PeakVision Leawood Challenge will be run as an open random draw for three rounds. The first round matchups are listed below and feature high vs low players (matchups made via a random number generator - random.org). The concept is that you will play your way to the appropriate bracket. Weaker players will encounter a tough first matchup, but should filter to their appropriate level of play after round one.
Some players are in the Gold Division points chase and if they qualify for the Pro Bracket, they will be allowed to opt out in order to play in the Gold bracket. Points earned in the first three rounds will apply to the Pro Points race.
PeakVision Leawood Challenge
Round One -- 8:30 a.m.
Greg Adams vs Carl Distefano
Ron Millican vs Keith Berg
Greg Clouse vs Bill Berg
Robert Fournier vs S. Jason Cole
Paul Miller vs Jason Johnson
Dylan Goodwin vs Deborah Millican
Round Two -- 9:45 a.m.
Lunch 11:00 a.m.
Round Three -- Noon
Playoffs -- 1:15, 2:30, 3:45
PeakVision Sunglasses has signed on as the official sponsor for Saturday's Leawood Challenge. The company designs sunglasses optimized for golf and that translates perfectly to croquet. PeakVision, which is based in Overland Park, will be covering the prizes for both the Pro Division and Gold Division as part of their sponsorship. You can learn more about PeakVision Sunglasses at peakvisionsports.com, but here's a bit of a primer:
The science behind PeakVision’s hybrid, Dual-Zone lens technology is based on the principal that it is impossible for a solid-tint sunglass lens to optimize your vision for both the bright sky AND the turf. When light-meter measurements are taken on the golf course, the lighting extremes range from 82,732 LUX for the sky down to only 3,122 LUX for the grass turf. The lighting for ground-based viewing is less than 4% of the ambient light in the sky.
Official Sponsor of the Leawood ChallengeLEAWOOD CHALLENGE CONFIRMED - SATURDAY, JULY 20
Players committed to date:
PRO
Dylan Goodwin
Ron Millican
Greg Adams
Paul Miller
Greg Clouse
GOLD
Bill Berg
Carl Distefano
Keith Berg
Debbie Millican
PRO
Dylan Goodwin
Ron Millican
Greg Adams
Paul Miller
Greg Clouse
Robert Fournier
Jason Johnson
GOLD
Bill Berg
Carl Distefano
Keith Berg
Debbie Millican
S. Jason Cole
MCA members Billy Bob Breeden and Dylan Goodwin recently travelled to Edina, MN to participate in the Minnesota/Mosquito Open. The Association event was held June 19-2 and featured nine players. Breeden tied two other players for the Sunday wildcard game at 6-2, but the tie-breaker knocked him out of the chase for the overall title. He finished with a 7-2 record. Goodwin had a 5-4 record.
Three MCA players travelled to Tulsa, OK to participate in the 2013 USCA Midwestern Regional Championship. The event was held June 12 through June 16 and Matt Smith won the Championship Flight while Deborah Millican took second in Second Flight. Full results with MCA members in bold:
June 12-16, 2013 | Tulsa, OK
Championship Singles
1. Matt Smith
2. Joe Yoder
3. George Cochran
4. Matt Griffith
5. Matt Baird
5. Jeff Caldwell
7. Art Parsells
8. Howard Holdsclaw
9. Wendell Thompson
First Flight Singles
1. Doug Johnson
2. Russ Dilley
3. Kevin McQuigg
3. Scott Spradling
5. Harold Menzel
5. Ron Millican
7. Andree Bothe
8. Bob Bozeman
Second Flight Singles
1. Alan McIntosh
2. Deborah Millican
3. Suzanne Spradling
Championship Doubles
1. Matt Baird & Jeff Caldwell
2. Joe Yoder & Matt Griffith
3. George Cochran & Art Parsells
4. Wendell Thompson & Howard Holdsclaw
First Flight Doubles
1. Kevin McQuigg & Pat Garner
2. Harold Menzel & Russ Dilley
3. Andre Bothe & Bob Bozeman
4. Ron Millican & Doug Johnson
Second Flight Doubles
1. Alan McIntosh & Lois Holdsclaw
2. Gene Melton & Deborah Millican
3. Cheryl Melton & Suzanne Spradling
With a win over Greg Clouse in the quarterfinals at Lee's Summit, Dylan Goodwin was able to leapfrog Clouse in the standings for the overall lead. Goodwin now has a 199 points in 10 games. Paul Miller stayed in second with 171 points in nine games, but is closer to the top position. Clouse follows closely in third place with 166 points. We now know that 30 or 40 points is easily made up in this race, so that means Robert Fournier (145) and Ron Millican (135) are still in contention. The race is on.
| Rank | First | Last | GP | Wins | Losses | Total Wickets | Wicket Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dylan | Goodwin | 10 | 7 | 3 | 199 | 19.90 |
| 2 | Paul | Miller | 9 | 5 | 4 | 171 | 19.00 |
| 3 | Greg | Clouse | 8 | 5 | 3 | 166 | 20.75 |
| 4 | Robert | Fournier | 8 | 4 | 4 | 145 | 18.13 |
| 5 | Ron | Millican | 7 | 3 | 4 | 135 | 19.29 |
| 6 | Matt | Smith | 4 | 4 | 0 | 103 | 25.75 |
| 7 | Greg | Adams | 4 | 2 | 2 | 66 | 16.50 |
| 8 | Jodi | Adams | 4 | 0 | 4 | 66 | 16.50 |
| 9 | Carl | Distefano | 2 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 16.50 |
| 10 | Debbie | Millican | 2 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 16.00 |
| 11 | Jason | Johnson | 2 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 11.00 |
| 12 | Bill | Berg | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 7.00 |
The Pro Standings and standings in this post have been updated. For some reason, the 12th place player, Bill Berg, was cut off.
| Rank | First | Last | GP | Wins | Losses | Total Wickets | Wicket Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason | Johnson | 7 | 6 | 1 | 159 | 22.71 |
| 2 | Bill | Berg | 6 | 3 | 3 | 103 | 17.17 |
| 3 | Deborah | Millican | 6 | 4 | 2 | 98 | 16.33 |
| 4 | Keith | Berg | 4 | 1 | 3 | 59 | 14.75 |
| 5 | Justin | Marciniak | 4 | 0 | 4 | 59 | 14.75 |
| 6 | Carl | Distefano | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 12.00 |
Paul Miller won the Pro Division
Lee's Summit, MO - Paul Miller of El Dorado, Kansas battled through a full day of Pro Division action at the Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament in Lee's Summit, MO to win the overall title. He beat Dylan Goodwin in 17-15 in the final.
PHOTO GALLERY | OFFICIAL SCORESHEET
The Pro Division had eight players and utilized three rounds of a random draw that matched up players with equal wins in each round. Matt Smith took the top seed out of the draw with a 3-0 record. He defeated Jodi Adams in round one of the playoff then withdrew. Miller was the five seed on that side of the bracket and advanced with an 18-17 win over four seed Greg Adams. The withdrawal of Smith gave Miller a bye to the championship.
On the other side of the bracket, Goodwin was the two seed, based on a 2-1 record with the loss being 22-21 nail-biter against Matt Smith. He played Greg Clouse in round one, after finishing the draw with a narrow 16-15 win over Clouse. The playoff went a little better as Goodwin won 28-9. Robert Fournier was the three seed and defeated six seed Ron Millican 22-17 to advance to the semi-finals against Goodwin.
Click for full photo galleryFournier had a last turns opportunity after going cross court to roquet his own corner ball resting in corner two. He tried a long peel at the 10PW that failed and left himself with a tough hoop shot and Goodwin prevailed 21-18.
In the final, Miller took early control when he stole an early break from Goodwin by placing his blue ball between red and black near wicket wicket three. Red was dead on blue and it reversed the set up and made a break for Miller.
Goodwin picked his way around the court to get back into the game and during last turns set a break for red near the 11PW that could have been the winner, but he left an opportunity for Miller to hit yellow. He ricocheted off the center wicket but did indeed hit yellow and gave red a tough hit-in on black back near the turning steak. Goodwin missed and Miller celebrated the 17-15 win.
JOHSON WINS GOLD
In the Gold Division, Jason Johnson now has a two-tourney win streak going as he defeated Bill Berg 18-10 in the final to take the title. The win gave Johnson a chance to avenge a 20-16 loss to Berg earlier in the day.
FINAL ORDER
Pro Division
1. Paul Miller (3-2)
2. Dylan Goodwin (4-2)
3. Matt Smith (4-0)
4. Robert Fournier (3-2)
5. Greg Adams (2-2)
6. Ron Millican (1-3)
7. Greg Clouse (1-3)
8. Jodi Adams (0-4)
Gold Division
1. Jason Johnson (4-1)
2. Bill Berg (3-2)
3. Deborah Millican (3-1)
4. Keith Berg (1-3)
5. Justin Marciniak (0-4)
The Pro Division has eight players and will be a random draw for three rounds based on matching players to the win level. To help avoid repeat matchups, round one was randomly drawn as hi vs low based subjective rankings. Random.org was used to generate the random numbers to set the first round matchups. A die will be used to set the matchups for rounds two and three. All players will advance to the playoff and will be seeded according to record. Tie-breaker is head-to-head, gross points, net points, stake lag.
ROUND 1 - 9:00 a.m.
Dylan Goodwin vs Jodi Adams
Greg Adams vs Paul Miller
Matt Smith vs Ron Millican
Greg Clouse vs Robert Fournier
Round 2 - 10:15 a.m.
Lunch 11:15-12:00
Round 3 - Noon
Quarterfinals - 1:15 p.m.
Semi-finals - 2:30 p.m.
Championship - 3:45 p.m.
05/02-03
Missouri Open (9W)
Lee's Summit, MO
05/23-26
Indian Territory Open (A6)
Tulsa, OK
07/10-12
US Golf Croquet Classic (GC)
Denver, CO
10/16-19
Houston Invitational (A6)
Houston, TX
04/04
2025 MCA AGM
Leawood, KS
05/02-05
USCA Midwest Regional (GC)
Tulsa, OK
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