LEAWOOD, KS -- Nate Benz has a commanding lead in the newly formed and highly popular Silver Division as we head into the final event of the 2014 MCA season. Currently, Benz has 214 points, but it is mathematically possible for Justin Marciniak to catch up as he trails by 59 points with 155.
LEAWOOD, KS -- Despite missing the KC Open, Taylor Airrington still has a strong lead in the Gold Points race with 174 points. Debbie Breeden and Deborah Millican are 42 points back at 132, but Millican is opting to play in the Pro Championship on September 13. Bill Berg is within reach as well as he follows closely at 125 points. With only two rounds though for the Gold Playoff, everyone will be hoping Airrington loses in the first round in order to have a shot at catching him.
LEAWOOD, KS -- Although he failed to make the final at the KC Open earlier this month, Dylan Goodwin earned enough points to clinch the overall pro points race, which is sponsored his Goodwin World Media company. Only 96 points will be available at the MCA Championship and with 428 points, Goodwin now holds a 130 point lead over Greg Adams (298) in second place.
PARKVILLE, MO -- Nate Benz survived a field of nine to claim the Kansas City Open Silver Division title with a 10-8 win over Steve Jackson. The win was the third straight Silver title for Benz and should help extend his lead in the Silver Points race.
Benz and Jackson played a tight game for the full 50-minutes in front of a nice gallery on the Kactus Creek Croquet Club veranda which sits right up next to the court. Most of the Silver Division players stayed to watch the final and several of the Pro-Gold players came by to enjoy the action as well.
PARKVILLE, MO -- With the limited courts and the worst number for a division (seven), we had to once again mix the Pro and Gold Division block play. The good news we've obliterated the MCA 9WS entry record with 21 players!
We'll work with four blocks of three with games starting at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. The top two from each block will advance to the eight player Pro Division playoff. The third place player in each block will play in a four-player Gold Playoff. Full schedule is listed below.
PARKVILLE, MO -- On Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m., the largest division in the history of the MCA Nine Wicket Series will roll out the balls for a great day of croquet. Nine players will challenge for the KC Open Silver Division title on the fast grass at the Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri. Full schedule is listed below.
PLAYER INSTRUCTIONS:
Player list to date:
What happens if you roquet a ball and it stays in bounds but the roquet ball or your striker ball hits another ball and it goes out of bounds?
This question came up and the Kansas Challenge and the advisement there was incorrect. The USCA Nine-Wicket Out of Bounds rules is unclear on this scenario (Option 2B), so we must defer to the USCA Six-Wicket Rulebook. It is covered under Roquets - Rule 6.2 and essentially it indicates that if a strike causes any ball to go out of bounds during a turn, his or her turn ends. Item F under the rule refers to the situation:
f) If the striker roquets a ball out of bounds or the roqueted ball causes another ball to go out of bounds, the turn ends and the striker incurs no deadness, with balls replaced in bounds as required by rule 8.3.
The MCA Nine Wicket Series will return to the fast grass on August 2-3 for the Kansas City Open at the Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri. It all depends on the number of entries, but tentatively the Gold and Silver Divisions are slated to play on Saturday while the Pro Division is slated for Sunday.
Kactus Creek is a one-court facility, so the MCA will use a slightly modified layout to squeeze in two nine wicket courts that will play very closely to full size courts. Essentially, the double wickets are moved closer to the north and south boundaries and the pegs are placed six foot by six foot from the boundaries in corners four and two.
LEAWOOD, KS -- Nate Benz moved to the top of the Silver Division with a 4-0 record at the Kansas Challenge this past weekend and he now has 154 points. Justin Marciniak and Diane Berg also jumped up in the standings as Bill Berg and Keith Berg played in the Pro-Gold Division. It looks like it could be a good race as we head into the final two events of the season.
LEAWOOD, KS -- The MCA has updated the 2014 Nine Wicket Series Pro Points race standings and Dylan Goodwin's win at the Kansas Challenge has given him a 105-point lead overall. He came into the event with an 83-point lead over Ron Millican, but there was a shake-up in the standings as Greg Adams (260) jumped over Millican (216) for second place in the race.
LEAWOOD, KS -- The MCA returned to Leawood, Kansas on Saturday in a big way as the the 2014 Kansas Challenge set a new record for player entries with 17. That eclipsed 12 entries for the same event in 2013 and shows the steady growth that the MCA is enjoying in the second season of the Nine Wicket Series.
GALLERY 1 | GALLERY 2 | GALLERY 3 | OFFICIAL SCORESHEET
On the courts though, the big story was the battle against the heat as the temperature reached 92 degrees in the afternoon. The Kansas Challenge had play across three divisions with Dylan Goodwin taking the Pro Division, Ron Millican winning the Gold Division and newcomer Nate Benz going 4-0 to win the Silver Division.
LEAWOOD, KS -- The 2014 Kansas Challenge just finished up and we have winners across three divisions. Dylan Goodwin claimed his third straight tourney win with a 21-20 thriller over Greg Adams in the Pro Division. Ron Millican missed the Pro cut, but battled through the Gold Division bracket and took a 32-25 win over Debbie Breeden. The Silver Division had a five player round-robin and it came down to a big final showdown as projected in the afternoon. Nate Benz took the win with a 16-13 win over Justin Marciniak.
The big report with photos and results will be on the MCA website tomorrow.
LEAWOOD, KS -- The line-ups are set and players are expected to be on hand by 8:05 a.m. on Saturday for an 8:30 a.m. start for the Kansas Challenge at Mission Trail Elementary in Leawood, Kansas (133rd and Mission Road).
Gwyneth Bowen in the Silver Division is the only player with a first round bye. The Pro and Gold Divisions will play a mixed draw in the morning with all points counting toward the Pro Division. The top six players will then make the Pro Playoff, while the bottom six will be slotted in the Gold Division Playoff. The matchups follow.
For the Pro and Gold Divisions, what happens if I roquet a ball I am dead on, but it goes out of bounds?
This is just like hitting a dead ball that stays in bounds. The balls reset to the original positions and the turn ends. This is sometimes confused with not incurring deadness on a ball when you roquet it out of bounds. In that case, there is no deadness if the ball you roqueted goes out of bounds.
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