Rothman Wins U.S. Nationals

Ben Rothman won the U.S. singles title with a 2-0 win over David Maloof over the weekend. Rothman and Brian Cumming also took the doubles championship by defeating Maloof and Paul Scott in the finals.

Full photo gallery by Johnny Mitchell:
http://www.mitchellphotos.net/10nationals.htm

FINAL STANDINGS
National Croquet Center, West Palm Beach, Florida
October 3-9, 2010
 
Championship Flight Singles
1. Ben Rothman
2. David Maloof
3. Paul Scott
    Derek Wassink
5. Bill Martin
    Doug Grimsley
7. Rich Curtis
    Danny Huneycutt
9. Brian Cumming
    Peter Just
    John Young III
    Rick Sheely
13. David Bent
      Fred Jones
      Jackie Jones
      Johnny Osborn
17. Ben Morehead
     Tommy Harrington
     Johnny Mitchell
     Steve Summer
21. Steve Scalpone
      David McCoy
      Britt Ruby
      Ted Quimby
      Dick Brackett
26. Donna Dixon
27. Michael Todorovich
 
First Flight Singles
1. Peter Bach
2. Justin Berbig
3. Jane Beharriell
4. Francsi Palasieski
5. Danna Huneycutt
    Marc Campbell
7. Bill Taft
   Guy Brown
9. Dave Cohen
   Betty Whitlow
   Geoffrey Mattison
   Sandy Walsh
13. David Collie
     Bob Roth
     Betty Crisler
16. Carla Rueck
 
Championship Doubles
1. Ben Rothman – Brian Cumming
2. Paul Scott – David Maloof
3. David Bent – Derek Wassink
4. Rich Curtis – Doug Grimsley
5. Johnny Osborn – Ted Quimby
    Danny Huneycutt – Steve Summer
7. Peter Just – Bill Martin
    Jackie Jones – Fred Jones
9.   Dick Brackett – Ben Morehead
10. Britt Ruby – Rick Sheely
     Steve Scalpone – Tommy Harington
12. Johnny Mitchell – John Young III
     David McCoy – Michael Todorovich
 
First Flight Doubles
1. Bill Taft – Peter Bach
2. Donna Dixon – Justin Berbig
3. Bob Roth – Marc Campbell
4. David Collie – Jane Beharriell
5. Sandy Walsh – Betty Whitlow
 Danna Huneycutt – Rhonda Summer
7. Dave Cohen – Francis Palasieski
8. Geoffrey Mattison – Betty Crisler

Croquet Search Trends (September 2010)

The hottest trending croquet search terms to hit croquetnetwork.com during the month of September:

01. Wii Croquet
02. MacRobertson Shield
03. Courtney Green
04. Lafortune Park Croquet
05. Ruth Summers
06. Mission Hills Invitational
07. Jerry Stark
08. NYCC Tournament
09. Royal St. Catharines Croquet Club
10. David Ekstrom
11. Ruth Summers
12. Quebec Open
13. SC Croquet
14. Croquet NC
15. Cynthia Rugart

Gateball Shanghai Worlds Video

Re-posted from the Nottingham list:

"I'm just back from playing for Australia in the 10th World Gateball Championships in China.  11 Million people of all ages and genders play Gateball - no segregation - this was truly an amazing event. 

For those who remember the old Sonoma World Championships: multiply it ten fold, add TV, bus loads full with 96 teams (5 plus in each team) grandstands and opening/closing ceremonies like no other, multiple grass courts, undercover artificial courts, marble floored purpose build facility incorporating media rooms, museum, etc.......Chinese Opera, dragon dances, bands, music, singers, dancer, huge wide screen media etc, etc and you know what mallet sports can truly be."

-Liz Fleming

The Pasadena Playoff: West Coast GC Exhibition

Ben vs. Mohammad for Golf Croquet Supremacy

The Pasadena Croquet Club will be hosting a golf croquet extravaganza the weekend of 6-7 November 2010, which is the weekend before the Golf Croquet National Championships at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, CA on 10-13 November.

The highlight of this event will be a challenge Golf Croquet matchClick for full size between MHCC professional Ben Rothman and PCC member Mohammad Kamal, which will take place on Saturday November 6th at 1:30 pm at the Pasadena Croquet Club in Pasadena, California.  The event is free and is open to the public.  After the match, Ben and Mohammad will do a jump-shot demonstration, which will culminate with them selecting members of the audience to join their respective teams for an impromptu jump shot competition after showing some pointers.

On Sunday, November 7th at 10:00 am, there will be a doubles Golf Croquet tournament in which spectators, beginners and those new to the sport will be paired up with experienced golf croquet players to compete for prizes.

We are honored to have Ben and Mohammad play for us.  Ben is currently the top ranked Croquet player in the United States and North America.  He is the 14th ranked International Croquet player in the world.  Mohammad is the reigning national champion of Golf Croquet in this country, and is the highest ranked American Golf Croquet player in the world.  Both Mohammad and Ben have represented the United States on various teams that have played in international championships.  Needless to say, Ben and Mohammad are world class croquet players!

Please contact Eric Sawyer with any questions, at ecsccs@sbcglobal.net.

2010 USCA Nine-Wicket Nationals (Final Day)

George Cochran on his way to another singles titleFINAL DAY PHOTOS

SHAWNEE, KANSAS -- George Cochran picked up his second national title in nine-wicket singles Sunday afternoon with a 28-18 (unofficial) win over Bill Martin. It was Cochran's second nine-wicket national championship title as he also won in 2008.

Cochran actually had an early mishap when his black ball was un-intentionally placed deep in the jaws of wicket one. Martin was unable to get both yellow and black into the game and was unable to take the early advantage.

Cochran got the early break and ran out to the 11-point wicket. He followed a little later with his partner ball and had control of the game as Martin had trouble generating offense. Cochran did get hung up with both balls for the 14-point wicket and that allowed Martin to generate a late run with red, but he was not able to establish a three-ball break coming out of the turn.

In other action Sunday, Matt Smith and Nick Zink claimed their second straight doubles national championship with a win over Matt Baird and Jeff Caldwell.

FINAL STANDINGS

Championship Singles
1    George Cochran       
2    Bill Martin          
3    Billy Bob Breeden    
3    Nick Zink            
5    Matt Baird           
5    Jeff Caldwell        
5    Matt Smith           
5    John Warlick         
9    Greg Clouse
9    Eric Sawyer          
10    Don Brooks           
10    Pat Garner           
10    Don Oakley           
10    Dylan Goodwin        
14    Matt Griffith        
14    Jason Cole           
    
Championship Doubles
1    Matt Smith/Nick Zink
2    Matt Baird/Jeff Caldwell
3    George Cochran/Don Oakley
3    Matt Griffith/Billy Bob Breeden
5    Bill Martin/John Warlick
5    Don Brooks/Johnny Nichols
    
First Flight Doubles
1    Greg Adams/Troy White
2    Don Millican/Deborah Millican
3    Eric Sawyer/Caren Sawyer
3    Jodi Adams/Debbie Breeden
5    Pat Garner/Jason Cole

2010 USCA Nine-Wicket Nationals (Day Two)

Greg Adams during the championship gameDAY TWO PHOTOS

SHAWNEE, KANSAS -- Greg Adams and Troy White took the USCA Nine-Wicket First Flight Doubles Championship last night with a win over Debbie and Ron Millican. Adams and White advanced through the semi-finals by knocking off Jodi Adams and Debbie Breeden. The Millicans had advanced to the championship game by defeating Eric and Caryn Sawyer in the semi-finals.

Today, features the championship doubles elimination bracket and the singles championship game between George Cochran and Bill Martin.

2010 USCA Nine-Wicket Nationals (Day One)

Nick Zink heads through the turn

DAY ONE PHOTOS

SHAWNEE, KANSAS -- The first day of action saw 16 players battle it out in open singles play. The singles final will happen late afternoon today (4:00 or 5:00 p.m.) and will be George Cochran against the winner between Bill Martin and Billy Bob Breeden. Cochran has now made the finals three straight years and won in 2008. The playoffs matchups:

QUARTERFINALS
Bill Martin over Jeff Caldwell
Nick Zink over Matt Smith
Billy Bob Breeden over John Warlick
George Cochran over Matt Baird

SEMI-FINALS
George Cochran over Nick Zink
Billy Bob Breeden vs Bill Martin (late game)

Morning Coffee: 9W Coverage, Western Regionals Revisited, Lawn Bowling and More

Turn into Croquet Network Friday through Sunday and I should have daily coverage of the USCA Nine-Wicket National Championship which will again be held here in Kansas City (Shawnee, KS). Friday kicks off with open singles play and Saturday has two flights of doubles play. If the format follows last years, the singles championship game will happen at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Doubles playoffs are Sunday morning and generally conclude by 1:00 p.m.

Tega Cay Club Opens New Court -- The Lake Wylie Pilot reports that the South Carolina based Tega Cay Club (106 members) opened a new court this past weekend. TCCC founder and president Tom Anderson:

“From our humble beginnings on a soccer field over a year ago to this day today, we’ve proven that a group of like-minded, motivated individuals can come together and get a dream accomplished.”

USCA Mid-Atlantic / Northeast Regional Results -- Chris Patmore took the championship flight and Chris Glowacki won first flight. Full results here.

Lawn Bowling vs Croquet -- Bob Alman has an in-depth article on the opportunities and pitfalls regarding court sharing between croquet and lawn bowling clubs as the lead story on Croquet World Online.

Genie Hendry sent me a collection from the USCA Western Regionals -- You will find a few rare photos of me playing in first flight. Captions will all be updated soon.

MacRob Photos -- Adrian Wadley (croquetonfilm.com) posted this large collection of excellent MacRob photos a while back.

BBC Sport posted a short piece on Tony Le Moignan winning the Australian Open. If the BBC actually would give the sport serious coverage, that would be quite a boost. Sort of makes sense, considering Great Britain's continuing dominance of the sport.