Morning Coffee: 2011 Solomon Trophy Preview Edition

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SPECIAL SOLOMON TROPHY EDITION

The action never stops in the world of croquet, but this week we've got a big one on deck. It's Solomon Trophy time and Great Britain is looking for revenge after the U.S. ended the U.K. reign by winning their first test in the series in December of 2009 on a rainy final day in Rancho Mirage, California. As we head into the 2011 Solomon test, both teams are sporting strong line-ups, so we could be treated to another thriller as the American team will be desperate to hold onto their hard-earned trophy. The event will be hosted by Great Britain at the Hamptworth Golf Club and Country Club near Salisbury. Great Britain leads the series 17-1. You can review the 2009 series in the free digital edition

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Hughes Wins 2011 Delaware Invitational

Championship Finalists / Click for full gallery / Photo by John WarlickHeld May 26-29 | Wilmington Country Club | Photo Gallery

By Ben Rothman

Another beautiful weekend in Wilmington, Delaware, greeted the twenty-four participants in this year's Delaware Invitational. Tom and Joan Hughes were kind enough to open up their home for the welcoming reception again this year and provide shelter from the heavy heat that weighed down the practice day. Barry Gibson, the tournament co-host, welcomed a few select players to compete at the DuPont Country Club to alleviate the double banking concerns of tournament Director, Ben Rothman. The heat held back during the actual competition but the players left it all on the court. Handicaps were lower than last year, players were better and there were several games that went to the peg compared to zero last year.

The field was split into three flights of singles and two flights of doubles with assigned partners. While Jim Hughes aimed to repeat his championship victory, he would have more than the usual Delaware players to contend with as former rookies-of-the-year Micah Beck and Justin Berbig made their Delaware debut in the Championship flight

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Morning Coffee: BestInvest GC World Championship Blocks

Visit the Store Block announcements have been made for the BestInvest Golf Croquet World Championships and the full list can be found in the Croquet Network forum. In addition, Tom King has been announced as event manager. Full block listing--
/croquet-network-forum/post/1527189#post1527189

England won the Home Internationals held June 18-19 at Heaton Park in Manchester. Full results available here--

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Morning Coffee: Fulford, Morgan Win CA Championships

Visit the Store Robert Fulford took the CA Men's Championship with a -25tp +20tp +26tp +4 win over Paddy Chapman. The event was held at the Cheltenham Croquet Club, Gloucestershire, England, UK. Fulford advanced through the playoff by defeating Lionel Tibble, David Maugham and James Death. Full bracket--
http://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=news/newsdb.asp&NewsID=3732

Miranda Morgan won the Women's Championship with a -12tp +20 +25 win over Gabrielle Higgens.

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Morning Coffee: Khaled Younis Out for World GC

Visit the Store Croquet World Online reports that former world golf croquet champion Khaled Younis from Egypt had a recent car accident that has forced him to withdraw from the WCF World Golf Croquet Championship. According to the online article, the crash occured at 1:00 a.m. in the morning after a croquet match. Younis suffered a broken left hip and is currently in the hospital, but does a have a good prognosis. He needs six weeks of rest and is projected to be able to return to croquet in three-four months. A profile of Younis from Mohammad Kamal accompanies the piece --
http://croquetworld.com/People/khaled.asp

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Morning Coffee: Huneycutt Leads USCA Grand Prix

Visit the Store Maine's Big Lobster Croquet Tournament will be held from Tuesday, September 6, through Sunday, September 11, 2011. The opening reception and BBQ will be on Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m. and play will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The finals will finish before 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.  The format will be the same as all previous "Big Lobsters" -- nine wicket doubles and six wicket singles, USCA sanctioned.  Details and entry forms will be sent out later, but mark it on your calendars and come join us here on the coast of Maine for a fun week of croquet in a beautiful setting. Perry Mattson

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Matt Smith Wins Midwestern Regionals

TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- Matt Smith defeated Jeff Caldwell 22-13 to take the USCA's Midwestern Region singles championship flight. Caldwell opened the action with a break that took yellow through four-back, but didn't quite get an ideal leave set for red (for wicket two). That left the door open for Smith. It didn't take long for Smith to get his first break and from there he pretty much controlled the action.

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