No Problem for Houston

By Johnny Mitchell and Carla Rueck

Croquet Week is always a busy time for the USCA, but “Week” might be a misnomer when it is all said and done. With a lineup of croquet schools, a Golf Croquet Tournament, the USCA Annual Meeting, Awards Dinner and culminating with the USCA’s Club Teams Tournament, it is almost two weeks of events. The annual Club Teams event has always been considered one of the more fun events on the USCA calendar and, with a lineup of 100 players, this year was no exception.

Championship, First Flight and Second Flight were each played as cross blocks of six to allow the maximum number of games within each flight. The Third Flight was composed of two blocks of seven. This allowed for each flight to have six games in block play and everyone made it to the playoff ladder.

Championship Flight Winners Dick Sullivan and Bob Van Tassell

Block play began on Thursday as did the fun. In the spirit of our departed Commish Les Kelly, Karen Heckman organized fun and games Thursday evening with the traditional activity of “shoot the wicket and hit the bottle of rum” that Kelly oversaw in his many years of bringing a little of the St. Croix and the Bombay Club experience to Florida. The evening was topped off with a pizza party with the pizza generously donated by David Isaacs, Karen Heckman and an anonymous donor. Speaking of donations, we would also like to acknowledge the very generous donation from Freear Pollard, which helped lower the cost of the tournament for all. The Friday night reception was donated and hosted by Randy and Bev Cardo along with Carla Rueck. All of this was instrumental in making this event successful. St. Patrick’s Day has also been a popular element to Club Teams and this year was no exception with players donning their best St. Paddy’s green, which is always a fun diversion from the normal “croquet whites.”

Championship Flight block play was competitive except for the teams of Danny Huneycutt/Jodie Rugart and John Brown/Bob Pulitzer who went undefeated with Brown/Pulitzer coming out on top due to net points. Surprisingly, Bob Van Tassell/Dick Sullivan, who were the lowest-handicapped duo and last year’s winners, finished third overall in block play. None of this really mattered except for seeding purposes in the playoff ladder where Van Tassell/Sullivan began their run to the finals eliminating both Huneycutt/Rugart and Brown/Pulitzer. On the other side of the ladder, the team of David Isaacs/Templeton Peck rolled through the ladder in a similar fashion to make it to the final game. When it was all said and done, Van Tassell/Sullivan repeated their victory to claim the title for the second year in a row.

Second Flight winners Boyd Parker and Joe Leary

In First Flight, the competition was just as fierce with Jeff Morrison/Yen Sullivan going undefeated in block play and the teams of Vickie Johnston/Jeanne Branthover and Larry Lynch/ Karen Heckman finishing with only one loss in the block. The Morrison/Sullivan team continued their winning ways through the ladder and remained undefeated to get to the final game. On the other side of the ladder, Lynch/Heckman fought their way to the final game meeting Johnston/Branthover in the semifinals where one team was bound to lose its second game of the tournament. Lynch/Heckman were successful in their run to the finals and didn’t stop there. They proceeded to give Morrison/Sullivan their only loss of the tournament, and it was a costly one. In a close 18-16 victory Lynch/Heckman took the First Flight crown.

Third Flight winners Kit and Carl Detering

Second Flight saw a continuation of the competitive spirit of Club Teams with hard-fought games in block play as well as the playoff ladder. In block play, the teams of Mary Cassidy/Alan Lazarescu, Richard Corey/Melissa Nelson and Eileen Cornacchia/ Allison Worthington each had only one loss with Lin Irey/Priscilla Flowers close on their tail with two losses. As with the other flights, block play was just a prelude to the playoffs for seeding purposes. Everyone performed as expected except for Joe Leary/Boyd Parker from Houston who entered the playoffs with a 3-3 record but managed to turn it up a notch to not only make it to the finals but also come out victorious over Cassidy/Lazarescu who, up to that point, had only lost one game.

Conner and Jane Helms

John Young and Doug Moore

Mary Craddock and Donna Hamel

Because Third Flight had 14 teams, it was divided into two blocks of seven. In the first block, Carl and Kit Detering from Houston made it through undefeated with another Houston team, Walter and Mary Cain, close on their heels with only one loss (to the Deterings). In the other block, Tom and Yolande Hadlock from Westhampton led the field with only one loss in block play. When you talk about a close field, this third flight really fits that bill. In all the ladder games, only four games were decided by a margin of five or more points. All the rest were by three or fewer points. By the time everyone made it to the semifinals, three of the four teams were from Houston. In the end, the Deterings proved they came to play as they took the championship victory against the Hadlocks 15-12. They were the only team in the tournament to go undefeated.

After the dust had settled and the flight winners had been decided, it was time to determine who would win the Lyons Trophy for the top club. Clubs are divided into divisions so smaller clubs don’t have to compete against larger clubs for the overall championship and no advantage exists by entering a gaggle of teams in the event. Points are then awarded to teams who finish in the top five of their respective flights. Division 1 is for the larger clubs and this year only two fit the bill. It came down to Houston and Westhampton with Houston winning out for the second straight year. It also really helps to have teams that finish high in each flight as points are awarded to the top five places. Division 2 had Bombay, the Beach Club, Lenox and the National Croquet Club with the National Croquet Club besting the pack. Division 3 was composed of Belleair Country Club (last year’s winner), the Everglades Club, Scissortail Club and West River Wickets who ended up on top.

In retrospect, this year’s event was an overwhelming success. Play was competitive, social events were fun and the camaraderie was amazing. Club Teams will continue to be one of the more enjoyable USCA events to participate in. If you have never played in Club Teams, it is one that you should put on your calendar.

Final Order

Division 1 – Houston Croquet Association

Division 2 – National Croquet Club

Division 3 – West River Wickets

CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT

01. Bob Van Tassell/Dick Sullivan – National Croquet Club

02. Davis Isaacs/Templeton Peck – Bombay Mallet & Wicket Club

03. John Brown/Bob Pulitzer – Houston Croquet Association

03. Arthur Olsen/Kevin Hansley – Westhampton Mallet Club

05. John Young/Doug Moore - Bombay Mallet & Wicket Club

05. Danny Huneycutt/Jodie Rugart – The Beach Club

05. Conner Helms/Jane Helms – Scissortail Croquet Club

05. Mary Rodeberg/Ron Eccles – Lenox Croquet Club

09. Tom Cooper/Randall Roe – Everglades Croquet Club

09. Calvert Chaney/Hal Denton – West River Wickets

09. David Ekstrom/David McCoy – National Croquet Club

DNF Randy Cardo/Beverley Cardo – Westhampton Croquet Club

FIRST FLIGHT

01. Larry Lynch/Karen Heckman - Bombay Mallet & Wicket Club

02. Jeff Morrison/Yen Sullivan - National Croquet Club

03. George Peterkin/John Craddock - Houston Croquet Association

03. Vickie Johnston/Jeanne Branthover - The Beach Club

05. Lee Hamel/Mark Stamey - Houston Croquet Association

05. Jim Watrous/Frank LaValla - Belleair Country Club

05. Bill Sadowski/Lovejoy Duryea - Westhampton Croquet Club

05. Tom Tribby/Missy Chilton - The Beach Club

09. Liddy Chaney/Rodney Calver - West River Wickets

09. Richard Lummis/Jackie Wallace - Houston Croquet Association

09. John Grabow/David Kepner - Westhampton Croquet Club

09. George Claffey/Rita McNamara - Lenox Croquet Club

SECOND FLIGHT

01. Joe Leary/Boyd Parker - Houston Croquet Association

02. Mary Cassidy/Alan Lazarescu - Westhampton Croquet Club

03. Lin Irey/Priscilla Flowers - National Croquet Club

03. Eileen Cornacchia/Allison Worthington - The Beach Club

05. Don Chapoton/Mary Jo Chapoton - Houston Croquet Association

05. Richard Corey/Melissa Nelson - Westhampton Croquet Club

05. Georgia Carter/Mary Craddock - Houston Croquet Association

05. Jennifer Loving/Jeff Scholz - The Beach Club

09. Jeanette Hodgkins/Donald Kent - Belleair Country Club

09. Linda Grady/Rosemarie Maccario - National Croquet Club

09. Anne Licursi/Freear Pollard - Westhampton Croquet Club

09. Sonia Alexandra/Jane Pflug - National Croquet Club

THIRD FLIGHT

01. Carl Detering/Kit Detering - Houston Croquet Association

02. Tom Hadlock/Yolande Hadlock - Westhampton Croquet Club

03. Walker Cain/Mary Cain - Houston Croquet Association

03. Bass Wallace/Carmela Lummis - Houston Croquet Association

05. Patricia Peterkin/Donna Hamel - Houston Croquet Association

05. Linda Gutherie/Peter Gutherie – West River Wickets

05. Lynn LeBlanc/Flavia Logie – Bombay Mallet & Wicket Club

05. John Bannister/Carol Bannister – National Croquet Club

09. David Beccia/Jessica Beccia - Westhampton Croquet Club

09. Kathleen Lomas/Lynn Lomas - Westhampton Croquet Club

09. Ken Heim/Hilary Michaels – Lenox Croquet Club

09. Barbara Ann Busch/Nancy Hunt – Belleair Country Club

09. Jeanette Tribby/Sally Ohrstrom – The Beach Club

09. Maude Carter/Mathilde Hoefer – Houston Croquet Association

Second Flight winners Boyd Parker and Joe Leary

Third Flight winners Kit and Carl Detering

Mary Craddock and Donna Hamel

First Flight winners Yen Sullivan and Jeff Morrison