Benzanity
/PARKVILLE, MO -- Nate Benz survived a field of nine to claim the Kansas City Open Silver Division title with a 10-8 win over Steve Jackson. The win was the third straight Silver title for Benz and should help extend his lead in the Silver Points race.
Benz and Jackson played a tight game for the full 50-minutes in front of a nice gallery on the Kactus Creek Croquet Club veranda which sits right up next to the court. Most of the Silver Division players stayed to watch the final and several of the Pro-Gold players came by to enjoy the action as well.
Kansas City Open: Pro-Gold Sunday Schedule
/PARKVILLE, MO -- With the limited courts and the worst number for a division (seven), we had to once again mix the Pro and Gold Division block play. The good news we've obliterated the MCA 9WS entry record with 21 players!
We'll work with four blocks of three with games starting at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. The top two from each block will advance to the eight player Pro Division playoff. The third place player in each block will play in a four-player Gold Playoff. Full schedule is listed below.
Kansas City Open: Silver Division Schedule
/PARKVILLE, MO -- On Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m., the largest division in the history of the MCA Nine Wicket Series will roll out the balls for a great day of croquet. Nine players will challenge for the KC Open Silver Division title on the fast grass at the Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri. Full schedule is listed below.
PLAYER INSTRUCTIONS:
2014 KC Open Player List
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Player list to date:
KC Open: August 2 and 3
/The MCA Nine Wicket Series will return to the fast grass on August 2-3 for the Kansas City Open at the Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri. It all depends on the number of entries, but tentatively the Gold and Silver Divisions are slated to play on Saturday while the Pro Division is slated for Sunday.
Kactus Creek is a one-court facility, so the MCA will use a slightly modified layout to squeeze in two nine wicket courts that will play very closely to full size courts. Essentially, the double wickets are moved closer to the north and south boundaries and the pegs are placed six foot by six foot from the boundaries in corners four and two.
Benz Jumps to the Top of Silver
/LEAWOOD, KS -- Nate Benz moved to the top of the Silver Division with a 4-0 record at the Kansas Challenge this past weekend and he now has 154 points. Justin Marciniak and Diane Berg also jumped up in the standings as Bill Berg and Keith Berg played in the Pro-Gold Division. It looks like it could be a good race as we head into the final two events of the season.
Airrington is Still Gold
/Goodwin's Lead Extends in the MCA Pro Race
/LEAWOOD, KS -- The MCA has updated the 2014 Nine Wicket Series Pro Points race standings and Dylan Goodwin's win at the Kansas Challenge has given him a 105-point lead overall. He came into the event with an 83-point lead over Ron Millican, but there was a shake-up in the standings as Greg Adams (260) jumped over Millican (216) for second place in the race.
Kansas Scorcher
/LEAWOOD, KS -- The MCA returned to Leawood, Kansas on Saturday in a big way as the the 2014 Kansas Challenge set a new record for player entries with 17. That eclipsed 12 entries for the same event in 2013 and shows the steady growth that the MCA is enjoying in the second season of the Nine Wicket Series.
GALLERY 1 | GALLERY 2 | GALLERY 3 | OFFICIAL SCORESHEET
On the courts though, the big story was the battle against the heat as the temperature reached 92 degrees in the afternoon. The Kansas Challenge had play across three divisions with Dylan Goodwin taking the Pro Division, Ron Millican winning the Gold Division and newcomer Nate Benz going 4-0 to win the Silver Division.
2014 Kansas Challenge Early Report
/LEAWOOD, KS -- The 2014 Kansas Challenge just finished up and we have winners across three divisions. Dylan Goodwin claimed his third straight tourney win with a 21-20 thriller over Greg Adams in the Pro Division. Ron Millican missed the Pro cut, but battled through the Gold Division bracket and took a 32-25 win over Debbie Breeden. The Silver Division had a five player round-robin and it came down to a big final showdown as projected in the afternoon. Nate Benz took the win with a 16-13 win over Justin Marciniak.
The big report with photos and results will be on the MCA website tomorrow.
2014 Kansas Challenge Matchups
/LEAWOOD, KS -- The line-ups are set and players are expected to be on hand by 8:05 a.m. on Saturday for an 8:30 a.m. start for the Kansas Challenge at Mission Trail Elementary in Leawood, Kansas (133rd and Mission Road).
Gwyneth Bowen in the Silver Division is the only player with a first round bye. The Pro and Gold Divisions will play a mixed draw in the morning with all points counting toward the Pro Division. The top six players will then make the Pro Playoff, while the bottom six will be slotted in the Gold Division Playoff. The matchups follow.
2014 Kansas Challenge Player List
/Kansas Challenge: Saturday, July 12
/Don't miss out on the action as the MCA Nine Wicket Series returns to Leawood, Kansas for the Kansas Challenge on Saturday, July 12 in Leawood, Kansas.
The deadline for entry is Tuesday, July 8 at 10:00 p.m. You have two easy options for entry:
Airrington Controls the Gold Race
/Lead Expands in the MCA Pro Race
/Goodwin and Airrington Repeat at Tulsa
/TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- The MCA made a successful trip on Saturday to expand the Nine Wicket Series into Oklahoma as thirteen players across two divisions battled the wickets and wind at LaFortune Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both divisions ended up with repeat winners as Dylan Goodwin defeated Matt Baird 20-9 for the 2014 Oklahoma Open Pro Division title and 16-year-old Taylor Airrington went 3-1 to claim the Gold Division title. Bill Berg also had a 3-1 record in the Gold Division, but the Airrington won the head-to-head match 24-17.
Both Goodwin and Airrington started the MCA season with wins at the Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament in May and now both players will look for a three-peat on July 12 at the Kansas Challenge to be held at Mission Trail Elementary in Leawood, Kansas.