2021 Southeast Regionals

By Macey White

The 2021 Southeast Regional American 6-Wicket Croquet Tournament was held June 10-13, 2021, at the beautiful Pinehurst Resort. The courts were in good shape and players of all flights came ready to play high-level croquet. Cloudy skies prevailed through the tournament with occasional showers, but that did not disrupt play enough to get the tournament off of its heavy-play schedule. Forty-three players vied for championships in singles and doubles on four courts over four days. Play started each day at 8:00 a.m., and on some days, didn’t end until 7:00 p.m. The doubles championship was contested on Thursday with 11 teams in Championship Flight and 10 teams in First Flight. Play was single elimination with consolation games for those who got bumped out early. When the dust settled, Becky Essick and Danna Huneycutt edged out Randy Reid and Brian Zindel 13-12 in a nail biter that went down to the wire. Nail biters were the order of the day for winners Essick and Huneycutt, as they won their three games with a total of four net points. On the championship side, Bev Cardo carried her husband, Randy, to a four-point victory over the hometown hotshots, Bill Daigle and John Knott. Singles play was divided into three flights with round-robin play on Friday and Saturday, and everyone went to the singles playoffs on Sunday. In Second Flight, Terry Hunt lost to Karen Heckman in the round-robin but pulled out a well-fought victory in the playoff finals, winning 16-8. In First Flight, Brett Stovall was a steamroller, winning all five games in the block and four games in the playoffs with only one close game (a one-point victory over Steve Thurston). Stovall won the finals against Elaine Moody 17-11. At the awards ceremony, someone in the crowd made a cry to put Stovall in Championship Flight. He will be in Championship Flight from now on! Championship Flight was very strong in this tournament with 12 players having handicaps below zero. Handicaps in C Flight ranged from -0.5 to -4.0. Macey White and Mike Taylor both went undefeated in their flights but neither one made it to the playoff finals. The championship finals were a great back-and-forth slugfest between two of the best American 6-Wicket players in the country, Danny Huneycutt and Randy Cardo. Both players had great opportunities to run clean breaks and win, only to have misfortune intervene with missed hoop shots. The game ended with multiple overtimes tied at 11-11 highlighted with a number of failed, longish hoops shots. The game was won with a great strategic push at the end by Cardo who carved out a 12-11 victory. Regional tournaments are not just a time for the best players to battle it out. They are also a great way for up-and-coming players to hone their skills and learn new strategies and techniques. The following players distinguished themselves with above-grade play, and as a result, their handicaps have gone down.

• Rob Byrd went down to a -1.0 • Brett Stovall went to a 0.0 • Linda Trifone went to a 4.5 • Steve Thurston went to a 5 • Linda Pike went to a 10 • Susan Creasey went to a 10 • Teresa Errickson went to a 10 • Rene White went to a 1

When you see these players, please congratulate them on their performances! All game results can be found on www.croquetscores.com.

USCA SE American Six Wicket Regional Trophy Winners picture: Left to right, Elaine Moody, Brett Stovall, Terry hunt, Karen Heckman, Randy Reid, Bill Daigle, John Knott, Bev Cardo, Randy Cardo, Becky Essick, Danna Huneycutt and Danny Huneycutt.

01. Randy Cardo 02. Danny Huneycutt 03. Mike Taylor 03. Rob Byrd 05. Bev Cardo 05. Macey White 05. Jim Spoonhour 05. Bill Daigle 09. Edward S. Roberts 09. Mark Fields 09. Rodney Lassiter 09. John Knott

01. Brett Stovall 02. Elaine Moody 03. Jeanne Branthover 03. Rich Watson 05. Randy Reid 05. Jim Watrous 05. Steve Thurston 05. Steve Errickson 09. John Donohue 09. Rick Alderson 09. Linda Trifone 09. Vickie Johnston 09. Danna Huneycutt 09. John L. Schoo 09. Brian Zindel 09. John Joseph 17. Becky Essick 17. Neville Boschert

01. Terry Hunt 02. Karen Heckman 03. Linda Pike 03. Norm Pike 05. Cecil Creasey 05. Tim Williams 05. Jennifer Joseph 05. Susan Creasey 09. Teresa Errickson 09. Rene White 09. Louise Mercuro

01. Randy Cardo/Bev Cardo 02. Danny Huneycutt/Rodney Lassiter 03. James Spoonhour/Mike Taylor 03. Bill Daigle/John Knott 05. Elaine Moody/Ed Roberts 05. Rob Byrd/John L. Schoo 05. Macey White/Steve Thurston 05. John Donohue/Brett Stovall 09. Mark Fields/Linda Trifone 09. Rich Watson/Rick Alderson 09. Jeanne Branthover/Vickie Johnston

01. Becky Essick/Danna Huneycutt 02. Brian Zindel/Randy Reid 03. Neville Boschert/Jim Watrous 03. Karen Heckman/Tim Williams 05. Jennifer Joseph/John Joseph 05. Terry Hunt/Norm Pike 05. Stephen Errickson/Teresa Errickson 05. Louise Mercuro/Rene White 09. Cecil Creasey/Susan Creasey 09. Linda Pike/George Fiegel