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USCA CROQUET WEEK

Golf Croquet Tournament Results

March 10 - 12, 2023

Geraldine McCauley and 9-year-old phenom Simon Dentchev

captured the essence of our sport as they faced off

in the opening match of the Golf Croquet event.

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 U.S., 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.

Championship Winner Harry Dodge
& Finalist Randy Cardo

First Flight Winner Earle Mauldin
& Finalist Bill Simmons

Second Flight Winner Timothy Williams
& Finalist Jim Sansalone

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. 

Two of the thrilling matches of the tournament were during the Championship Semi-Finals. 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 Harry taking the first of three games in a tiebreaker, 7-6.  Tamer fired back taking the second game 7-5, and it was a close finish with Harry capturing the third game 7-5 to punch his ticket into the Final.

Meanwhile in the other Semi-Final, the husband-wife duo of Randy and Bev 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.  Harry rose to the occasion and finished with top honors with a 7-2, 7-3 victory over Randy.

In First Flight, both Earle Mauldin and Bill Simmons had strong showings in block play. Enroute to the Finals, Earle dispatched of Richard Corey 10-5 and Bill got past Ivo Dentchev in a close 10-9 game. Earle kept up his steady play in the Final and took home the win against Bill 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 semi-final game while Tim Williams faced off against Jodie Payne in the other semi-final. Tim snagged a 7-2 win to meet Jim in the Second Flight Final.  The Final went the distance to the “hook,” and it was Tim 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.

Tournament Director: Cheryl Bromley

Assistant TD/Tournament Manager: Priscilla Flowers