MOORE breaks through for First SINGLES TITLE at 9W Nationals

Fifteen participants descended on the Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club from May 30 to June 2 to compete in the national championships for 9-wicket croquet in both singles and doubles. The entrants were treated to fantastic weather, good-spirited competitors and a sneak peak of the venue under construction for the Golf Croquet World Championships being held in October.

First Flight singles champion George Claffey with Paul Neubecker (L) and Doug Moore (R)

The tournament began with doubles competition on Thursday and Friday, with block play finishing Friday morning before moving into the knockout. After block play ended, the team consisting of Macey White and Nancy Crouch secured the one seed and Doug Moore and Paul Neubecker secured the two seed and first-round byes. The knockout “went chalk” until the finals, where the two-seeded team of Moore and Neubecker were able to knock off White and Crouch. Keep your eyes peeled on the USCA YouTube channel for this game.

The two teams who got knocked out in the first round competed for the First Flight Doubles title, which was won by a team of relative newcomers, John Woods and Jeff Taylor. This happened to be their only victory as a team in the tournament, proving they only win the ones that count. Saturday saw three additional players join for singles-only play divided into two flights, eight players in Championship and seven players in First Flight. All eight players advanced to the knockout for Championship Flight, while six of seven First Flight players made the knockout with the top two seeds earning a first-round bye.

First-time tournament participant, Dean Rowland, made a deep playoff run in First Flight as a four-seed, but ultimately lost in the finals to two-seed George Claffey. In Championship Flight, doubles partners Moore and Neubecker made their way through the knockout to face each other in the finals. Given the two were looking at a seven-hour drive back to New York together after the match, the potential for hard feelings and awkwardness was luckily avoided as Moore ended his second-place finishing streak to secure his first national singles title. All competitors were in good spirits at the conclusion of a successful tournament.

Final Order

Championship Singles

01. Doug Moore

02. Paul Neubecker

03. Brian Hovis

03. Macey White

05. Steve Thurston

05. Gil Rocha

05. Nancy Crouch

05. Greg Clouse

Championship Doubles

01. Paul Neubecker/Doug Moore

02. Macey White/Nancy Crouch

03. Brian Hovis/Dean Rowland

03. Todd Marshall/Greg Clouse

First Flight Singles

01. George Claffey

02. Dean Rowland

03. Todd Marshall

03. Kabe ErkenBrack

05. Jeff Taylor

05. John Woods

07. Russ Brudnicki

First Flight Doubles

01. John Woods/Jeff Taylor

02. Steve Thurston/George Claffey

Championship Doubles finalists teams: Macey White/Nancy Crouch and Doug Moore/Paul Neubecker

First Flight Doubles Champions: Jeff Taylor and John Woods