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Massachusetts State Croquet Championship 2021

 

The Massachusetts State Championship was hosted by the Lenox Croquet Club, in Lenox Massachusetts on July 31^st to August 1^st, 2021.  Ten players competed who were either Mass. residents of a member of a Mass. Croquet Club. While the turnout was less than expected we attributed this to pandemic caution, the heighten tourists 'season in the Berkshires with ongoing events of theatre and Tanglewood plus a long drive from eastern Mass. 

Players enjoyed the competition, continental breakfast, lunch and social toast & tally events.  The tournament finals concluded with BBQ Hamburgers and Hot Dogs. 

The winner, Stuart Lawrence, was not a surprise.  With his -3 handicap, Stuart easily dominated a field where the next lowest handicap was a 4.5; and his total wicket count for   seven games was 172.  You can do the math: that's just 10 hoops short of perfection.
 

There was great competition for places 2 thru 4, though, in the quarter finals early on Sunday morning.  Sarah Persons, sporting a 15 handicap in her first 6-wicket tournament "dropped an 8" on Stuart before he completed his expected peg-out, 26-8 . Martie Ekstrom and Rita McNamara had a great battle before Martie pulled away with a 20-8 win. By a score of 16-13, Greenwich Croquet President Bill Miller squeezed by Claude Lourie, the French-American lady with accent charmant and textbook swing. And a marriage evidently survived what might have been its Waterloo, as Courtney Green beat his wife Kathleen Green, 21-15.  The couple left hand-in-hand. 

In the semis, Stuart Lawrence was in top form with a 26-4 win over Martie Ekstrom; while Courtney Green toped Bill Miller 18-12.  In the finals, it was Lenox's top-rated player and lawns keeper winning it all over Courtney Green 26-6. 

David Ekstrom, President of Lenox Croquet Club and Tournament Manager joined forces with fellow member Webster Bull, who served as Tournament Director. 

             
Webster Bull, Stuart Lawrence, David Ekstrom         Webster Bull, Courtney Green, David Ekstrom