7 minute read
Morgan Tops The First Eight
Chris Percival-Smith wins the second and David Isaacs goes 14-0 in the third group
With just 24 players across three “Eights,” the 2023 USCA Selection Eights held at the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., certainly had a more intimate vibe across four days of play from October 26-29. Historically, the event has had four to five groups and occasionally stretched out to six. When asked about the lower turnout, tournament director Doug Grimsley indicated that a crowded national and international event schedule had an impact. In particular, he says the proximity of the American Six Wicket Nationals just 12 days prior had an effect. And notably, with the post-pandemic catchup, the WCF event schedule set a new standard by hosting six world championships in 11 months.
The smaller field didn’t decrease the level of competition within the groups, particularly in the First and Second Eight as both featured last-day drama. In the First Eight, Stephen Morgan came into the final morning with a 7-3 record and needing one win out of two scheduled games versus Sherif Abdelwahab (#11 U.S.) and Zack Watson (#4 U.S.) to claim the group. He took care of business early with a 26tp-4 victory over Abdelwahab in the first game to clinch the First Eight title.
Morgan was 8-4 overall in the event and is currently ranked fifth in the U.S. AC player rankings and #37 in the world. He says it was his 12th year in the event and the first time he’s won the First Eight.
When asked about the pressure to get at least one win on the day, Morgan says, “I needed one out of two and there I was playing Sherif and Zack, so it was definitely not guaranteed. I played a good game in the first one versus Sherif. He made an error early that was unlucky. He got wired to his other ball at the peg. So he couldn’t hit it, and then I was able to run the break and the leave and then run the triple again. Against Zack, I lost, but I had a chance — he swapped balls giving me an easy break. Then I set the leave, which he hit and he ran his break around. I hit his leave and then had a bad takeoff and failed on the approach to one. Then he tripled.”
It was Morgan’s eighth time in the first group, so when asked about how it felt to get that first win, he says, “I’m happy about that. It is a lot easier to win when Matthew Essick is not here, so I appreciate his absence, but I hope he comes back next time because it’s more fun to play against the best.”
Second Eight
The Second Eight was just as entertaining as Chris Percival-Smith had to face both of his challengers on the final morning. He started the day at 10-2 with Paul Neubecker and David Druiett both close behind at 9-3. Percival-Smith opened the day strong with a 26-22 victory over Neubecker before facing Druiett in the second game. It was another interactive game with Percival-Smith taking a 26-15 win to claim the Second Eight title with a 12-2 record. This was his second time in the Eights and he currently is ranked #2 in Canada and #22 in North America with a DGrade of 1960.
When asked about what it took to win the group after falling a game back, he says, “I think on Day 2 when Paul won a very close game with me, where I had stuffed penultimate and I had used his ball to get there. We were playing two on one at that point and I had two balls and he had one. It gave him the opportunity to get a point ahead and as time was ticking down, you know, I just couldn’t put the next attempt at a hoop together. He played really well. That loss kind of put me into a bit of a mental thing and that made the next game much more challenging against David. So now I’m playing the second from top player in the block and because that dialogue was going on, I choked in that game 26-11. And then I had to rally myself. I played Mike (Todorovich). And we played into the dark on Court 8 and the toads started coming out on the lawn. We had the full moon to help illuminate it, and we just kept on going and (I) turned that game around 26-20. When I showed up the next day, I was back in my normal form and positive and optimistic about things. I didn’t lose another game.”
Third Eight
By the time Sunday came around, the Third Eight was already decided. David Isaacs had rolled up a 12-0 record over the first three days, so entering that final morning, the only question was whether or not Isaacs could finish undefeated. He kept his form and easily managed the day taking a 26-1 win over Robert Smothers and a 26-10 win over Arlene Parker for a perfect 14-0 record and a staggering +226 net.
With this being his first official AC event, his starting DGrade of 1500 pushed up to 1610 by the end of the event to put him at #41 on the U.S. AC Ranking list.
Reflecting on the event, he says, “It’s a lot of croquet. It’s 14 games, which is more than I think a lot of tournaments have. I think that it’s an interesting game. I am predominantly an American rules player and this was my first AC tournament. I don’t necessarily think that one rule set is better than another, but I’ve just never taken up an AC tournament before now and I wanted to do this one because I know that you get to play a lot and I thought it would be great to get some good practice and see how some other players do with their breaks and leaves and how they put it together and recover.”
When asked about celebrating the victory, he says, “I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I’ve got a house guest, so I imagine we’ll probably get some drinks or dinner later and just go out on the town a little bit.”
He also noted the Selection Eights is a different kind of event. He says, “Not enough people really know about the event and can be intimidated by the length of the play and that it’s a different style of tournament … I encourage everyone to play all the rule sets however much they want. I don’t think any one rule set is better or worse compared to the others. People have different styles and different preferences. As long as someone is playing and swinging a mallet and hitting a ball through a hoop — that’s great. That’s what I think should be everyone’s goal that plays croquet — trying to get more people into the community.”
NEXT YEAR
Next year’s event will be held September 17-21, 2024, at the Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club in Hartfield, Va. The move out of the traditional end-of-October slot makes way for the 2024 WCF Golf Croquet World Championship to be held at the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.
—Player report and photos by Dylan Goodwin
FIRST EIGHT
01. Stephen Morgan (8-4)
02. Doug Grimsley (7-5)
03. Zack Watson (7-5)
04. Randy Cardo (6-6)
05. Stuart Lawrence (5-7)
06. Brian Cumming (5-7)
07. Sherif Abdelwahab (4-8)
08. Rich Lamm DNF
SECOND EIGHT
01. Chris Percival-Smith (12-2)
02. David Druiett (10-4)
03. Paul Neubecker (10-4)
04. Tom Cooper (8-6)
05. Mike Todorovich (7-7)
06. Gene Raymond (6-8)
07. Lynda Sudderberg (2-12)
08. Ron Eccles (1-13)
THIRD EIGHT
01. David Isaacs (14-0)
02. Mike Sully (9-5)
03. Dawn Jupin (9-5)
04. Sandra Knuth (7-7)
05. Dylan Goodwin (6-8)
06. Stephen Tasker (5-9)
07. Arlene Parker (4-10)
08. Robert Smothers (2-12)
