After a day of battle at the 2017 Eagles' Landing Missouri Open, the MCA Pro Division title came down to a last turns run by Matt Smith as he claimed a tight 26-20 win over Matt Griffith on Saturday afternoon.
The event was held at Eagles's Landing Golf Course in Belton, Missouri and drew 17 of the MCA's best battling in Pro and Gold divisions half of the Gold players falling into a Silver Division playoff.
BELTON, MO -- The full report will be posted when available. Scores from the 2017 Missouri Open championship games follow:
BELTON, MO -- Finally, two of the MCA Nine Wicket Series races lived up to the hype and played out on the final Saturday of the season at Markey Park in Belton, Missouri on September 17, 2016. The GWM Pro Series race saw Matt Griffith come into the MCA Championship Saturday with a narrow 16-point lead over Greg Clouse. The MCA Gold Series was even closer with Steve Jackson clinging to a five-point lead over Jodi Adams. That set the stage for a dramatic finish to the 2016 season.
PHOTO GALLERY | OFFICIAL SCORESHEETS
At the Pro level, there was an interesting twist in that the playoff bracket favored Clouse as Matt Smith slotted into the top half of the bracket as a five seed with a 9-1 record. That indicated Griffith would likely have to take on Smith in round two, while Clouse was set for a much easier path in the bottom half of the bracket.
Here's a quick look at the main results from yesterdays MCA Championship. Full report with photos will be posted when available.
Pro Points Race -- Matt Griffith took his second straight MCA Pro Nine Wicket Series with 427 points on the year to edge out Greg Clouse at 421.
MCA Pro Shield Championship -- Matt Smith 23, Greg Clouse 8
Gold Points Race -- Jodi Adams started the day from behind but maded up ground to claim the overall Gold Series title with 318 points. Steve Jackson was second on the year with 283 points.
MCA Gold Shield Championship -- Jodi Adams 24, S. Jason Cole 16
Silver Points Race -- Gabe Airrington mathematically claimed the overall Silver Points race once it was determined that the Silver bracket would only field six players. That meant challenger Justin Marciniak couldn't get the three games that would be required to even make a run at Airrington's lead. Due to his football career, Airrington was unable to play in the MCA Championship, but he is still the overall champ with 314 points. Marciniak finished with 272 points.
MCA Silver Shield Championship -- Justin Marciniak 14, Brevin Millican 12
CLEVELAND, MO -- There was a lot of croquet action on day one of the 2016 Cleveland Open outside of Cleveland, Missouri today as the Pro, Gold and Bronze Divisions all competed today. All three divisions saw new winners.
PRO DIVISION: Matt Smith over Greg Clouse 20-10
GOLD DIVISION: Nate Benz over Jodi Adams 30-22
BRONZE DIVISION: Patrick Fagan 2-0, Gwyneth Bowen 1-1, Shari Cullinan 0-2
A full report will be posted at a later date, as we will continue with Silver play tomorrow morning with an 8:30 a.m. start.
Gabe Airrington won the Silver Division final with a 28-15 win over Justin Marciniak on Sunday.
BELTON, MO -- As the MCA Nine Wicket Series prepares to take a historic step by partnering with a golf course for an event, it appears as though top players are paying attention. The 2015 Missouri Open at Eagles' Landing Golf Course in Belton, MO., on Saturday, June 6, 2015 now boasts the best Pro field that the Series has fielded. For starters, 2014 USCA Nine Wicket National champion Paul Miller is on the roster as well as runner-up Matt Griffith.
Paul Miller
In addition, former two-time USCA Nine Wicket National champion Matt Smith (2009, 2011) has also joined the fray. Smith took some time off from nine wicket croquet and is now ranked #29 on the US list for Association players. And also from the Association world, Billy Bob Breeden will be on hand for the Missouri Open and he is currently #47 in the US Association rankings.
And of course, MCA 9WS mainstays Dylan Goodwin and Greg Clouse will also be looking to breakthrough the talented field as they join Miller and Griffith as the only other players to have won a Pro Series event.
"It's been a long term to goal to partner with a golf course here in the Kansas City area," said Dylan Goodwin, MCA President. "So, it's been great to see the top players here support the event."
With Monday as the entry deadline, 21 players have already committed and there are only two slots left for Pro/Gold. The tentative plan is to start Pro/Gold at 8:30 a.m. with the championship game slated for roughly 4:00 p.m. The Bronze and Silver Divisions will start at noon and should finish by 6:00 p.m.
| 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 |
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.
As we approach the second leg of the MCA Nine-Wicket Series with the Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament this Saturday, twelve players have signed up for action. First round matchups will be announced on Thursday night, but here is the current roster with ranking. Check back for updates:
Committed:
1. Matt Smith
2. Greg Clouse
3. Dylan Goodwin
4. Greg Adams
5. Ron Millican
6. Paul Miller
7. Robert Fournier
8. Jodi Adams
9. Jason Johnson
10. Deborah Millican
11. Bill Berg
12. Keith Berg
Interest:
Justin Marciniak
Justin Marciniak has indicated that he is a strong verbal. He would slot in as number 12 in the rankings.
MCA members Matt Smith and Billy Bob Breeden are playing at this week's USCA Association National Championship. Smith tied for second in the yellow block with a 6-3 record, while Breeden went 1-7 in the blue block (which looks like an incredibly tough block). You can follow the event here:
LEAWOOD, KS -- The MCA held it's Annual General Meeting February 9 in Leawood, KS and announced several new changes and initiatives. The most significant change is a new name -- the Midwest Croquet Association (changed from Missouri Croquet Association). The change is intended to better represent the organization's activities on both sides of the border and allow for expansion. New president Dylan Goodwin will work with the MCA Board to get a new logo approved that reflects the new direction of the association.
The big ticket item though was the announcement of a season-long nine-wicket points race for singles play. Details will be announced later, but the concept is that players will accumulate points at events hosted throughout the region. Top points players will then qualify for the MCA Nine-Wicket Championship event in September.
Most of the dates and venues are still to be determined, but Ron Millican announced May 4 as the official date for the Lee's Summit edition of the series (more details to come). The event will kick off the nine-wicket MCA season and Millican plans to have both partner ball flights and a cut-throat (six ball) flight as well. The MCA hopes to have at least one event per month over the summer with Warrensburg, MO and Overland Park, KS being likely hosts. August is being left open as many MCA players would like the opportunity to play in the 40th edition of the Kansas City Invitational in Parkville, MO.
The MCA also announced a $5.00 bump in membership fees for both singles and couples/families. Single memberships are now $20.00 and couples/family memberships are now set at $30.00.
Former MCA president Matt Smith asked to leave the MCA Board and Ron Millican has taken his place on the five member board. The board consists of Dylan Goodwin (President), Jodi Adams (Treasurer), Debbie Breeden (Secretary), Greg Clouse and Ron Millican.
After roughly 18 months as President of the Missouri Croquet Association, Matt Smith turned the reigns over to Dylan Goodwin of Leawood, Kansas in November. Goodwin has served on the MCA board since 2011 and is also the Communications Committee chairman for the USCA. In addition, he is the publisher and editor for the USCA's Croquet News magazine and manages the Croquet Network news website.
"I've proposed to the core members of the MCA that we take on a more active singles nine-wicket approach to get the organization playing more competitive croquet in the KC area," said Goodwin. "And, the second priority is getting established events in the other three codes of croquet as well."
Goodwin noted that an association rules event started in 2011 and the 2012 event is in progress.
"Clearly, there are challenges for playing GC, Association and American rules events here as we only have the one court at the Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville," said Goodwin "However, the association event shows that we just need to get creative with being flexible and potentially playing over multiple weekends. I'd like to see the AC event be sponsored by the MCA in 2013 and expand out to more players and possibly two flights."
"The main thing is, I just want to get a strong circuit of competitive play going here in KC."
The MCA will hold an All General Meeting (AGM) on February 9 in Leawood, Kansas to get started on planning events for 2013.
FEB 17
Annual Meeting-Online
05/04
Missouri Open (9W)
Lee's Summit, MO
05/24-05/27
Indian Territory (US/GC)
Tulsa, OK
06/13-06/16
ScissorTail Inv. (US)
Oklahoma City, OK
06/20-06/23
Midwest Regional (US)
Houston, TX
08/30-09/02
Tulsa Classic (US/GC)
Tulsa, OK
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