England’s Dodge Takes Croquet Week GC Title

By Cheryl Bromley

It was an amazing three days of golf croquet as 49 players descended upon the National Croquet Center for the annual USCA Croquet Week Tournament. Players came from around the US, Toronto, Canada and Bath, England. Coach Steve Fisher and four of his female players from the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Croquet team also made the trip to participate.

Players were divided into three flights for block play with the top four finishers from each block advancing into the knockout in their respective divisions. The remaining players moved into the plate and once the knockouts began, players were given one more “life” in the bowl and consolation playoffs.

The championship semifinals produced two of the most thrilling matches in the tournament. With strong finishes coming out of the blocks for the four players, the first match featured Tamer Hatata and Harry Dodge. Both gentlemen displayed world-class shot-making with Dodge taking the first of three games in a tiebreaker, 7-6. Hatata fired back taking the second game 7-5, and it was a close finish with Dodge capturing the third game 7-5 to punch his ticket into the final.

Meanwhile, in the other semifinal, the husband-wife duo of Randy and Beverley Cardo battled a close best-of-three game match displaying stellar shooting. Randy managed to edge past Bev with a 7-5, 6-7, 7-5 victory to take on England’s Harry Dodge in the final.

The final kept the crowd entranced as they watched from the veranda witnessing amazing hoop shooting and clearing at long distances. Dodge rose to the occasion and finished with top honors with a 7-2, 7-3 victory over Cardo.

Geraldine McCauley and nine-year-old phenom Simon Dentchev captured the essence of our sport as they faced off in the opening match

In First Flight, both Earle Mauldin and Bill Simmons had strong showings in block play. En route to the finals, Mauldin dispatched Richard Corey 10-5 and Simmons got past Ivo Dentchev in a close 10-9 game. Mauldin kept up his steady play in the final and took home the win against Simmons 10-8 to capture his second tournament title in four months.

In Second Flight, Jim Sansalone had to get past his wife Nancy in a 7-6 semifinal game while Tim Williams faced off against Jodie Payne in the other semi. Williams snagged a 7-2 victory to meet Sansalone in the Second Flight Final. The final went the distance to the “hook,” and it was Williams who scored the 13th hoop to claim the 7-6 victory. This was only the second sanctioned GC tournament for Sansalone and the first for Williams.