Photo courtesy of Todd Russell
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The Mountain Brook Croquet Club hosted its inaugural Golf Croquet event June 10-12.
The club was created by Arthur Bagby, the Alabama Director of the United States Croquet Association. The Mountain Brook Croquet Club features a full size lawn adjacent to the back side of the Bagby home.
For the three day event, seven Mountain Brook croquet club members competed with visiting players from Georgia and Tennessee.
Representing the MBCC were Michael Seale, Matthew Jackson, Robert Schoel, Todd Russell, Lee Yeilding, Miller Connaway, and Tom Shelton.
From Georgia, Jimmy Huff and Kent Lovvorn, represented the Carroll County Croquet Club, based in Carrollton Georgia.
Huff and Lovvorn are seasoned veterans on the croquet tournament scene, and have participated in multiple Golf Croquet National Championships. Huff is currently ranked 26th nationally, and Lovvorn is reigning Southeast Regional Champ and ranked 23rd nationally. Ying Benns traveled from Lookout Mountain, Tenn. to complete and became the MBCC’s newest member.
Block play began Friday afternoon and players were divided into two separate blocks where they competed in a round robin competition.
On Saturday morning, block play completed and the Semifinals and Cup brackets were seeded with Kent Lovvorn, Todd Russell, Matthew Jackson, and Jimmy Huff moving on to the semifinals.
Saturday afternoon, the remaining six competitors battled it out for the Cup championship. In the end, Robert Schoel battled club stalwart Lee Yeilding for the Cup, with Yielding sneaking by with a 7-6 victory.
During the semifinals on Sunday, Kent Lovvorn triumphed 7-4, 4-7, 7-5. The Mountain Brook Croquet Club’s club champion was set to be determined by the second semifinal match between Matthew Jackson and Todd Russell. Jackson won the day decisively, 7-5, 4-7, 7-5.
With temps hitting mid 90’s and high humidity, the finals began Sunday afternoon. Jackson, a talented, yet unranked player faced off with one of the top players in the United States in his very first sanctioned tournament.
In game one Jackson scored the first two hoops and held on tight winning 7-6. Game two went to Kent Lovvorn, who fought back for a 7-4 win. Ultimately the victory fell to Kent Lovvorn, winning the final game 7-5.
The Mountain Brook Croquet Club holds games most Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons. For more information, or to join the Mountain Brook Croquet Club, contact Arthur Bagby at arthurbagby@gmail.com.
-- Submitted by Todd Russell
