Era of Domination Continues

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Matt Griffith put an exclamation point on his fourth straight MCA Pro Nine Wicket Series win as he took me down 26-24 in yesterday's final at the 2018 MCA Championship at Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri.

In reality, Griffith had pretty much claimed the 9WS Series by the time the final started as he held a 30-point lead at the start of the game. I did make a go of it with an out-game approach with blue, but it didn't take Griffith long to get in and wrap up the Cup chase by taking yellow through wicket #3.

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Clouse is the 2018 Pro 9WS Leader

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While Matt Griffith and Ron Millican took the glory at the 2018 Lee's Summit T-Bone MCA opener, it was Greg Clouse that slipped in to snag the early lead in the Nine Wicket Pro Series with 116 points. Clouse faired better in the conditions than any other player and averaged 23.20 wickets on the day.
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2017 KC Open: Griffith Clinches Pro 9WS

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With the dust settling on a big weekend of action at the Kansas City Open held at the Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri, the numbers all add up to a three-peat for Matt Griffith in the MCA Nine Wicket Series as he now leads the overall race by more than the 96 points that will be available at the MCA Championship in September.
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2017 KC Open: Early Pro Report

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PARKVILLE, MO -- Matt Griffith took the 2017 Kansas City Open Pro Division title with a tight 19-17 win over Billy Bob Breeden at Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, Missouri. Griffith has now won three of the four Kansas City Open Pro titles and a record seven MCA Pro titles. Griffith advanced to the final after a 23-16 win over Dylan Goodwin. Breeden made it to the final after winning 24-22 thriller over Greg Adams in the semifinals.

Tomorrow the action resumes as the Gold players will hit the courts at 8:30 a.m. look to gain slots in the final eight for the MCA Gold Championship in September. 

Millican Smashes the Pro Ceiling

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The MCA Pro Division now has a female player listed on the page of title champions. Deborah Millican worked through the long grass of the Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament held this past Saturday at Howard Park in Lee's Summit to finish with a 25-9 win over Billy Bob Breeden to claim her first Pro title. It's a wonderful moment for the MCA and for croquet in general as the sport has always been marketed as gender and age equal. Scroll through that list of champions and you'll see the MCA is well represented across all demographics.
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Drama to the End

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BELTON, MO -- Finally, two of the MCA Nine Wicket Series races lived up to the hype and played out on the final Saturday of the season at Markey Park in Belton, Missouri on September 17, 2016. The GWM Pro Series race saw Matt Griffith come into the MCA Championship Saturday with a narrow 16-point lead over Greg Clouse. The MCA Gold Series was even closer with Steve Jackson clinging to a five-point lead over Jodi Adams. That set the stage for a dramatic finish to the 2016 season.

PHOTO GALLERY | OFFICIAL SCORESHEETS

At the Pro level, there was an interesting twist in that the playoff bracket favored Clouse as Matt Smith slotted into the top half of the bracket as a five seed with a 9-1 record. That indicated Griffith would likely have to take on Smith in round two, while Clouse was set for a much easier path in the bottom half of the bracket.

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2016 MCA Pro Championship Bracket

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The 2016 MCA Pro Division Championship is scheduled for an 12:00 p.m. start on September 17, 2016 at Markey Park in Belton, Missouri (615 W. Markey Road, Belton, MO 64012). The championship games should be start around 2:30 p.m. Playoff bracket with scheduled times:
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Clouse Roars Back

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When the MCA Nine-Wicket Series launched in May of 2013 with the Stilwell Open, Greg Clouse was there. He took that first title with an 18-16 win over Dylan Goodwin in the final. Since then Clouse made many appearances in MCA 9WS finals, but had to settle for runner-up status each time.
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2016 Missouri Open Winners

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BELTON, MO -- The 2016 Missouri Open rolled out on schedule yesterday morning at Eagles' Landing Golf Course in Belton, Missouri. A full report and photos will be posted in the near future, but here are your winners across the four divisions:

PRO DIVISION: Greg Clouse 19, Greg Adams 15
GOLD DIVISION: Steve Jackson 19, Nathan Oberg 18
SILVER DIVISION: Gabe Airrington 21, Josh Reed 18
BRONZE DIVISION: Brevin Millican 21, Cade Millican 6 

Cleveland Rocks

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The Cleveland Open certainly rocked the MCA Nine Wicket Series this past weekend as all four of the points' races saw new leaders at the top of the standings after this weekend's action at the Cleveland Croquet Club. The fun started in the Pro Division, as former USCA Nine Wicket National Champion Matt Smith came into the event with the idea of ending Matt Griffith's participated tournament win streak of six. Smith had a couple of MCA events under his belt, but the Cleveland Open is the first one where he planned to participate in the knockout round.
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2016 Cleveland Open Pro Line-up

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The Pro Division for the 2016 Cleveland Open start swinging the mallets at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning with a three-round random draw format. Ten players will be looking for eight spots in the afternoon playoff bracket. The Pro Championship will take place at 3:15 p.m. on Center Court at the Cleveland Croquet Club. Methodology is explained below.
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2016 Lee's Summit T-Bone Pro Schedule

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The MCA Pro Division for the 2016 Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament will utilize two blocks for the morning with all players advancing to an eight-player knockout. Schedule follows.

A BLOCK

8:30 AM
Griffith vs B. Berg
R. Millican vs G. Adams

9:45 AM
Griffith vs G. Adams
R. Millican vs B. Berg

11:00 AM
Griffith vs R. Millican
G. Adams vs B. Berg

B BLOCK 

8:30 AM
Clouse vs D. Millican
Goodwin vs Johnson

9:45 AM
Clouse vs Johnson
Goodwin vs D. Millican

11:00 AM
Clouse vs Goodwin
Johnson vs D. Millican

PLAYOFFS

1:00 PM - QUARTERFINALS

2:15 PM - SEMIFINALS

3:30 PM - PRO FINAL

Updated website information on the Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament will appear here:
midwestcroquet.com/missouri-croquet/tag/lees-summit-t-bone-tournament 

Use #MCA9WS for the most up to date news on social media. 

2015 MCA Championship Official Schedule

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BELTON, MO -- It's championship week! The action starts on Friday evening with the Six Ball Championship at 6:00 p.m. at Markey Park in Belton, Missouri. Saturday morning the Pro Division will take the courts with an 8:30 a.m. start. Gold, Silver and Bronze follow with a 12:45 p.m. start. No meals are provided with this event.

ADDRESS:
Markey Park
615 Markey Rd
Belton, MO 64012

We are still able to take up to five more players for the Six Ball Championship on Friday evening. It is a free event for MCA members and $10 for non-members. Contact kccroquetclub@gmail.com if you would like to participate. Official schedule follows.

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2015 MCA Championship Player List Update

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LEAWOOD, KS -- Each year, the MCA headquarters springs into action after the final MCA 9WS regular season event and begins the invite process for the MCA Championship. For those not familiar with the format, MCA members that qualify in the top event of each division (12 in Bronze) get free entry into the championship. Non-members that qualify can still pay a fee to participate in the event. In addition, the MCA will offer a single-elimination Six-Ball Championship on Friday evening (September 18) that is free for members and open to all players with a $10 entry fee.
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2015 Missouri Open - Pro Schedule

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BELTON, MO - Entries for the 2015 Missouri Open Pro and Gold Division topped out at an odd number of 15 players. That scenario forced a split between the Pro and Gold Division. With 10 pro spots available, eight spots were given to the eight players that made the Pro Playoff at the Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament. Matt Smith and Paul Miller were awarded the final two spots based on 9W Ranking. The Pro Division will play a three-round morning draw and eliminate two players to get down to an eight player afternoon bracket. Full schedule:
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2015 MCA AGM: Focus on KC Development

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The 2015 Midwest Croquet Association Annual General Meeting was hosted at the home of Ron and Deborah Millican in Lee's Summit, MO on February 7, 2015. The meeting began at 11:00 a.m. with a look at financials and membership. The MCA set records in both revenue ($1815) and members in 2014. The MCA had 32 members in 2014, which was up from the record of 22 in 2013 (2012 had nine members).
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2014 MCA President's Awards

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LEE'S SUMMIT, MO -- The MCA announced five winners for the 2014 MCA President's Awards at the beginning of the 2015 AGM Meeting on February 7, 2015:

OFF-THE-COURT: JODI ADAMS
Adams earned the Off-the-Court Award for her management of all MCA revenue and expenses during a record year for MCA revenue. The award also recognizes the work she did in 2013 to transition the MCA to a new bank account to accommodate a name change. Honorable Mention: Greg Adams for his work with Mahaffie Farmstead and Sunflower Wickets. Honorable Mention: Matt Griffith for planning and hosting the USCA Nine Wicket National Championship at Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, MO.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: BILL BERG
Honorable Mention: Jason Johnson

JUNIOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR: TAYLOR AIRRINGTON

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: NATE BENZ
Honorable Mention: Taylor Airrington

GROUNDSKEEPER OF THE YEAR: BILL BERG Berg was awarded Groundskeeper of the year for his work in preparing the courts for the 2014 Kansas Challenge and for the opening of his nine wicket lawn at the Cleveland Croquet Club.

Also see: 2013 MCA President's Awards

Active Postseason for MCA Players

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After a solid second year of MCA Nine Wicket Series play, MCA players and members made a lot of noise in USCA and club events in the postseason. Here's an update:

Matt Griffith and Paul Miller had a repeat of the Kansas City Open final on a much bigger stage as they fought through a tough field at the USCA Nine Wicket National Championship in Kansas City to battle in the title game. This time Paul Miller prevailed 24-15 to claim his first national championship. Miller also made a run at the doubles title as well with his partner Doug Moore from New York, but they came up short against defending doubles champions George Cochran and John Warlick in the final.

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