CROQUET NEWS:  National Championship Won by Danny Huneycutt

31 May - 5 June 2005
Puget Sound Croquet Club, Kirkland, Washington, USA
story by Jeff Soo in Croquet World Online
commentary by Danny Huneycutt in Croquet World Online

Roommates and national doubles titlists Drake and Stark were joined in the winners' circle by roommate Danny Huneycutt, the USCA's newest [International Rules] national champion. Huneycutt beat Paul Scott in a high-quality three-game match.

Both players played their breaks equally well. In the final tally, it was Huneycutt's better shooting that decided the match.

Stark won the talent-heavy Plate knockout, punctuating the final win over John Taves with a peg hit from the sideline.

Thanks to the efforts of Puget Sound Croquet Club member Marion Smith, local press coverage was excellent. There were several TV spots, a radio piece, and a front-page, above-the-fold, article in the Seattle Times.

Day Four

There will be a new USCA International Rules national champion on Sunday. Each of today's quarterfinal matches featured one past national champion, and all four of those players lost. The Drake v. Taves match was the highest quality match (three triples) and also the first to finish, Drake winning the first and third games. Huneycutt beat his doubles partner, defending champion Cherry, in two scrappy games. Scott beat Stark in a match of poor shooting but mostly solid break play -- three triples. And the unseeded Uhlman continued his giant-killing streak by taking down McBride in straight games.

Saturday's matchups will be Scott v. Drake and Huneycutt v. Uhlman. Expect two matches with markedly different styles. The doubles final will follow.

Day Three

Today's doubles matches set up a rematch of the 2002 final: Stark and Drake will take on Scott and Soo on Saturday afternoon. By reaching the final, Scott and Soo have extended their streak of reaching the final at every national doubles event they have entered together -- this will be their seventh. And because Scott and Stark teamed up to win the doubles in 2004, Scott will be playing in his eighth national doubles final.

Day Two

This was the start of the main singles event, plus more singles plate games. Local player Carl Uhlman had an excellent day, knocking off seeded players Cumming and Mehas without losing a game.

Day One

All six of the scheduled doubles matches were completed today, all of the matches finishing in two games. There were no upsets, every seeded team beating their unseeded opponents in the morning, then #4 seeds Cherry and Huneycutt advancing past #5 seeds Mehas and Taves in the afternoon. As the doubles matches finished, singles Plate play began.

Weather was pleasant and sunny ... every now and then.

Commentary

With only three courts available for the USCA International Rules National Championship Jerry Stark and Jeff Soo are commended for running the most efficient USCA National titled event. Jeff introduced a new concept, at least in America, of allowing players to play plate games throughout the competition, even prior to being eliminated from the main event.

Here are a few interesting statistics, keep in mind that plate games had a 2.5 hour limit and main event matches (best 2 of 3 games) in singles and doubles had a 7.5 hour time limit.

Players – 20
Games – 150
Average number of singles games per player – 13
Average number of doubles games per player – 4
Average number of games per player – 17

The Puget Sound Croquet Club deserves special accolades for all their efforts in making the tournament a special event. They were a model for venues that will be hosting croquet tournaments and events in the future. Each day the early morning coffee and snacks were refreshing, lunches were wonderful and the hospitality was gracious, accommodating and friendly, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. One morning omelets were made to order and John and Anne Taves’ hosted a dinner while their guests were treated to a picturesque evening- view of the Cascades. Television crews and newspaper reporters were constantly interviewing players and Seattle’s version of Good Morning America filmed several one to two minute sessions.

All the extra media attention generated a steady stream of curious visitors and onlookers on Saturday and Sunday. In return, each player would sit with a couple visitors and give commentary for games that were in progress. This process along with contact information from the guest book and follow-up should provide an influx of potential club members. For those who stayed until the games completed on-court demonstrations and instruction was provided.

From all the participants, thank you Puget Sound Croquet Club for providing such a special event.