PeakVision Leawood Challenge: Miller Begins Streak

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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

PeakVision Leawood Challenge Matchups

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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 Sponsorship for Leawood MCA Event

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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.

PeakVision Leawood Challenge - Saturday, July 20

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Official Sponsor of the Leawood ChallengeLEAWOOD CHALLENGE CONFIRMED - SATURDAY, JULY 20
Hopefully, everyone kept this on their calendar. We have confirmed a location for the next event in the Nine-Wicket Series - The Leawood Challenge. The event will be held at the Mission Trail Elementary Soccer Field at the corner of 133rd St and Mission in Leawood, Kansas. More details:

Start time: 8:30 a.m.
Entry: $20 regular entry or $10 for MCA Members
Format: Singles 9W. Divisions dependent on number of entries.
Lunch: Lunch is not included, but we will give a longer lunch gap and restaurants are located nearby at 133rd and State Line and also on 135th Street.

HOW TO ENTER:  Contact is Dylan at kccroquetclub@gmail.com. Please indicate preferred division.
JOIN THE MCA
MCA members enjoy discounts on entry fees for most of the MCA Nine-WIcket Series events and free entry to the MCA Championship on September 14 for players that qualify. Click here for more details on MCA membership.

 

MCA Members Travel For AC In Minnesota

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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. 

FINAL ORDER
1. Jim Hanks
2. Mike Weimerskirch
3. Rick Sheely
3. Billy Bob Breeden
5. Dylan Goodwin
6. Mickey Huttenhoff
7. George Funk
7. Jeff Lee
7. Mary Rodeberg

Matt Smith Wins Midwest Regional Championship

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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

Goodwin Jumps Ahead in the Pro Division

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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.

RankFirstLastGPWinsLossesTotal WicketsWicket Average
1DylanGoodwin107319919.90
2PaulMiller95417119.00
3GregClouse85316620.75
4RobertFournier84414518.13
5RonMillican73413519.29
6MattSmith44010325.75
7GregAdams4226616.50
8JodiAdams4046616.50
9CarlDistefano2023316.50
10DebbieMillican2113216.00
11JasonJohnson2022211.00
12BillBerg202147.00

Johnson Extends Lead in the Gold Division

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Jason Johnson extended his lead in the Gold Division with his second title of the year at Lee's Summit this past Saturday. Bill Berg utilized his extra game in the championship to move into second place on the list. Full standings:

RankFirstLastGPWinsLossesTotal WicketsWicket Average
1JasonJohnson76115922.71
2BillBerg63310317.17
3DeborahMillican6429816.33
4KeithBerg4135914.75
5JustinMarciniak4045914.75
6CarlDistefano1011212.00

It's Miller Time

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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) 

Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament-Pro Division Schedule

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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. 

Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament-Gold Division Schedule

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ROUND 1 - 9:00 a.m.
Keith Berg vs Bill Berg
Jason Johnson vs Deborah Millican
Bye: Justin Marciniak

ROUND 2 - 10:15 a.m.
Jason Johnson vs Bill Berg
Deborah Millican vs Justin Marciniak
Bye: Keith Berg

ROUND 3 - Noon
Justin Marciniak vs Bill Berg
Jason Johnson vs Keith Berg
Bye: Deborah Millican

ROUND 4 - 1:15 p.m.
Justin Marciniak vs Jason Johnson
Deborah Millican vs Keith Berg
Bye: Bill Berg

ROUND 5 - 2:30 p.m.
Justin Marciniak vs Keith Berg
Deborah Millican vs Bill Berg
Bye: Jason Johnson

Gold Championship - 3:45 p.m.
1st and 2nd place play in this game

Gold 3rd Place - 3:45 p.m.
Optional for 3rd and 4th place players (points do not count for the Gold Race)

Lee's Summit Roster Update

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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

Commanding Lead for Clouse in the Pro Division

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Rank First Last GP Wins Losses Total Wickets Wicket Average
1 Greg Clouse 4 4 0 111 27.75
2 Paul Miller 4 2 2 77 19.25
3 Dylan Goodwin 4 3 1 75 18.75
4 Ron Millican 3 2 1 59 19.67
5 Robert Fournier 3 1 2 54 18.00
6 Carl Distefano 2 0 2 33 16.50
7 Debbie Millican 2 1 1 32 16.00
8 Jason Johnson 2 0 2 22 11.00
9 Bill Berg 2 0 2 14 7.00

 

Pro Division points are earned from Pro Division playoff games and open/Pro Division block games. Due to open block games, it is possible for Gold Division players to earn points in both the Pro Division and the Gold Division. It is also possible for a Gold Division player to qualify for the MCA Championship in both or all divisions.

Johnson Leads MCA Gold Division

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Rank First Last GP Wins Losses Total Wickets Wicket Average
1 Jason Johnson 2 2 0 55 27.50
2 Debbie Millican 2 1 1 27 13.50
3 Carl Distefano 1 0 1 12 12.00
4 Bill Berg 1 0 1 12 12.00

Gold Division points are earned from Gold Division only games in either block or playoff games. Due to open block games, it is possible for Gold Division players to earn points in both the Pro Division and the Gold Division. It is also possible for a Gold Division player to qualify for the MCA Championship in both or all divisions.

Clouse Racks 'Em Up in Stilwell

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Pro Division FinalistsStilwell, KS -- Greg Clouse rolled through the Stilwell Open with relative ease in the early going. Clouse took 32-9 and 32-8 wins in block play to take the number one overall seed in the Pro Division Playoff. In the semi-finals, he knocked out Paul Miller 29-12. In the championship game he survived a late attack by Dylan Goodwin to claim the Stilwell Open title with an 18-16 win. Goodwin as the three seed, had advanced with a tight 18-16 win over two-seed Ron Millican on his side of the bracket. Clouse, Goodwin and Millican were all 2-0 in block play.

PHOTO GALLERY | OFFICIAL SCORESHEET

The final between Goodwin and Clouse came down to last turns. Goodwin was first ball with red and cleared 11PW to pull within two wickets of Clouse. He failed to gain a foward rush on black and then made a key mistake in trying to roll black toward 13PW while taking red toward blue near 14PW. He ended up wired and tried to jump the 15PW for the roquet on blue but missed by a foot.

The easier solution would have been to leave black and go set yellow (dead on red) in front of its wicket (six). Yellow could have then wired black from blue.

In the Gold Division, playoff Debbie Millican started as the number one seed after coming up on the short end of the gross points tiebreaker among the 1-1 block players. Debbie beat newcomer Bill Berg 14-12 in the semi-finals for a berth in the championship game. As the three seed, Jason Johnson caught fire in the semi-final and took a 32-12 win over Carl Distefano who is also brand new to the sport. In the final, Johnson took the win over Debbie with a 23-12.

First and second place in both divisions received white baseball caps with the host Kansas City Croquet Club logo.

Standings in the MCA Nine-Wicket Points Series are being tabulated and will be posted when they are available.

FINAL ORDER

Gold Division FinalistsPro Division
1. Greg Clouse
2. Dylan Goodwin
3. Ron Millican
4. Paul Miller
5. Robert Fournier

Gold Division
1. Jason Johnson
2. Debbie Millican
3. Carl Distefano
4. Bill Berg

BLOCK GAME RESULTS

A Block
Greg Clouse 32-9 over Debbie Millican
Debbie Millican 23-14 over Jason Johnson
Greg Clouse 32-8 over Jason Johnson

B Block
Dylan Goodwin 23-7 over Bill Berg
Robert Fournier 20-7 over Bill Berg
Dylan Goodwin 18-13 over Robert Fournier

C Block
Paul Miller 26-19 over Carl Distefano
Ron Millican 23-14 over Carl Distefano
Ron Millican 20-16 over Paul Miller

PRO DIVISION PLAYOFFS

Wildcard
#4 Paul Miller 23-21 over Robert Fournier

Semi-finals
#1 Greg Clouse 29-12 over #4 Paul Miller
#3 Dylan Goodwin 18-16 over #2 Ron Millican

Finals
#1 Greg Clouse 18-16 over #3 Dylan Goodwin

GOLD DIVISION PLAYOFFS

Semi-finals
#1 Debbie Millican 14-12 over #4 Bill Berg
#3 Jason Johnson 32-12 over #2 Carl Distefano

Finals
#2 Jason Johnson 23-13 over #1 Debbie Millican

Stilwell Open Game Times

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We've got a great turnout considering the holiday weekend with nine players committed. We've got a few new players in the mix as well so this turnout bodes well for the Lee's Summit event as well.

For Saturday, you should be at the courts by 8:30 a.m. and they should be set for practice on right around 8:00 a.m.
Nine is a bit of a tough number for tournaments especially considering this group doesn't fit neatly into Pro and Gold divisions. I've set it as three blocks of three and the top five performers will go to the Pro Division playoff while the bottom four will go to the Gold Division playoff. All players are guaranteed three games. The block tie-breaker is head-to-head, gross wickets, net wickets, lag for the stake. Times and blocks listed below.

Lunch is provided and is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Camping chairs are a good idea and if you have a pop-up tent those are always good to have. I will have one set up.
Prizes awarded for 1st and 2nd place in each playoff.
A BLOCK
Greg Clouse
Jason Johnson
Debbie Millican
B BLOCK
Dylan Goodwin
Robert Fournier
Bill Berg
C BLOCK
Paul Miller
Ron Millican
Carl Distefano
Round 1 - 9:00 a.m
CT1 - G Clouse vs D Millican
CT2 - D Goodwin vs B Berg
CT3 - P Miller vs C Distefano
Round 2 - 10:15 a.m.
CT2 - J Johnson vs D Millican
CT3 - R Fournier vs B Berg
CT1 - R Millican vs C Distefano
Round 3 - 12:30 p.m.
CT3 - G Clouse vs J Johnson
CT1 - D Goodwin vs R Fournier
CT2 - P Miller vs R Millican

Stilwell Open Entry Deadline Approaches

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The Kansas City Croquet Club will host the Stilwell Open Nine-Wicket Singles tournament on Saturday, May 25. The nine-wicket singles event will be played according to USCA 9W National Championship options 1, 1a, 2, 3, 7, 9 and 10 (1a is modified to disregard the game score).

The Stilwell Open will kickoff 2013 MCA Nine-Wicket Series that concludes with the MCA Championship on September 14. The Stilwell Open format will likely be open blocks that filter to a Pro Division bracket and Gold Division bracket.

Lunch will be included. Entry fee structure:

  • $20 for non-MCA members
  • $10 for MCA members

Entry deadline is Monday, May 4. You can enter by registering with Croquet Network Overdrive (link below) or e-mailing kccroquetclub@gmail.com

Stilwell Open Address/Details:
http://croquet.ning.com/events/2013-stilwell-open

Known commitments: Dylan Goodwin, Greg Clouse, Ron Millican, Debbie Millican, Bill Berg, Paul Miller, Robert Fournier.

Strong Interest: Matt Smith, Carl (Cleveland)

Interest: George (Cleveland), Justin Marciniak, Paul Moore, Kirk Whitworth, Jason Johnson, Brad Clouse

Kactus Creek/MCA U.S. Rules Handicap Ladder

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Matt Smith will manage a U.S. Rules Handicap Ladder to be held at the Kactus Creek Croquet Club.  This will be six-wicket American rules play among the Kactus Creek members.  Games will be 1 hour 15 min. long. Bisques will be given on a 1 to1 ratio with half bisques dropped from players handicaps when figuring bisques.  Games can be played any time between March 1 and July 31.  The player at the top of the ladder on July 31st will be named winner. Matt will explore sanctioning via the USCA to have games count for tracking points.

You may play anyone in the ladder, but the results have to be recorded in the following thread on the MCA website or emailed to Matt Smith. Additional details are in the thread:

2013 Sunflower Wickets Details

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The Olathe Parks and Recreation Department has posted details for the 2013 Sunflower Wickets Benefit on Friday, June 7. Schedule:

  • Registration: 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Heritage Center
  • Croquet Play: 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Olathe North Soccer Fields
  • Wicked Wickets Happy Hour: 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Heritage Center with presentations beginning at 4:00 p.m.

More info: http://www.olatheks.org/parksrec/sunflower-wickets#overlay-context=sunflower-wickets