2013 MCA Championship: Pro Division Bracket

The match-ups and times are set for the Pro Division Championship Playoff to be held Saturdary, September 14 at Markey Park in in Belton, MO. The play-off is single-elimination. Lunch is not included, but there will be a gap provided for all players and there plenty of restaurant options near the facility. The event is free for qualified MCA members. Non-members that have qualified will simply need to join the MCA and can do that by paying the membership fee of $20 Saturday morning.

Quarterfinals - 8:30 a.m.
#1 Paul Miller vs #8 Jodi Adams
#4 Robert Fournier vs #5 Ron Millican
#3 Dylan Goodwin vs #6 Greg Adams
#2 Greg Clouse vs #7 Deborah Millican 

Semi-Finals - 9:45 a.m.
1-8 winner vs 4-5 winner
3-6 winner vs 2-7 winner

Pro Division Final - Noon

A six-ball (cut-throat) will run during this event as well. The first match in six ball will start at 10:00 a.m. and will include Bill Berg and Keith Berg. Debbie Millican will also be in this match if she is available. The rest of that match will be filled with losing players from the first round of the pro bracket. The second six ball match will be scheduled as players are available with the six-ball championship taking place at 2:45 p.m.

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Clouse Wins KC Invitational

PARKVILLE, MO -- MCA member Greg Clouse took first place at the 40th Edition of the Kansas City Invitational Tournament held this past Saturday in Parkville, MO. The event was six-ball (cutthroat) croquet. Overall, the MCA had three members in the final as Jodi Adams took fourth place and Ron Millican took sixth. Full results:

1. Greg Clouse 2. Brian Wolkey 3. Sandra Gruefe 4. Jodi Adams 5. Brian Mondt 6. Ron Millican 

Miller Leads the Pro Division

With Saturday's win at the PeakVision Leawood Challenge, Paul Miller moves into the pole position for the MCA Nine-Wicket Series. The top eight for the Pro Division will be invited to the MCA Championship on September 14. The Pro Division singles championship will be a single elimination bracket and seeds are based on the current point rankings.

With her eight place position, Deborah Millican will have the opportunity to play in both the Pro bracket and the Gold Division tournament.

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

Matt Smith Wins Midwest Regional Championship

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

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

Update on Friday, July 12, 2013 at 9:28PM by MCA Website Admin

The Pro Standings and standings in this post have been updated. For some reason, the 12th place player, Bill Berg, was cut off.

Lee's Summit Roster Update

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

Update on Wednesday, June 5, 2013 at 9:13PM by MCA Website Admin

Justin Marciniak has indicated that he is a strong verbal. He would slot in as number 12 in the rankings.

Commanding Lead for Clouse in the Pro Division

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.

Clouse Racks 'Em Up in Stilwell

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

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.

Event details: http://croquet.ning.com/events/2013-stilwell-open

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

MCA Name Change: Midwest Croquet Association

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.