Missouri's Steve Jackson

After a sweltering two days of action, the 2017 Croquet Network States Shield Championship is set with both Missouri and Wisconsin easily advancing. The mighty Missouri squad easily rolled Kansas 9-1, while Wisconsin won 7-3 in a test that seemed to have a little more balance.

PHOTO GALLERY | EVENT RESULTS

Missouri 9, Kansas 1

PLAYER REPORT BY DYLAN GOODWIN:

As the "Border War" resumed Saturday morning at Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Kansas City, the Missouri team held a 3-0 advantage over Kansas based on the Friday night results. The Friday night action featured a near two-hour battle between me and Steve Jackson that saw improved clearings as the game drew on, but multiple failed hoops by both players. Jackson came through in the end for a 7-6 win that set the table for Saturday morning.

The Kansas team almost notched an early upset as Darin Watson went up 5-1, then 6-2 on Jackson. But Mr. 13th Hoop went into rally mode and claimed the ninth to extend the game. He then took the 10th hoop to get to 4-6, but was in a hampered position with black. Unfortunately for Kansas, Watson learned the hard way about the double whammy penalty when he played Jackson's blue ball. After Jackson claimed the 11th hoop, the momentum was all in his favor and he delivered with another 7-6 win.

Billy Bob Breeden cruised to the penultimate fifth test win with a 7-3 victory over Justin Marciniak. We tried to stay alive as I was able to get a 7-3 win over Breeden in the next round, but Matt Smith actually finished off Watson 7-1 prior to our finish to get to the testing winning 6-0 score.

Kansas v Missouri Results on croquetscores:
croquetscores.com/2017/gc/state-shields-test/kansas-vs-missouri

Conclusion of the Illinois v Wisconsin Doubles MatchWisconsin 7, Illinois 3

PLAYER REPORT BY CHERYL BROMLEY:

The doubles team of Cheryl Bromley and Nels Bjorkquist of Wisconsin got off to a good start in their opening match with a 7-5 win over Rodney Workman and Tom Ford of Illinois.  This was followed by Keith Anderson's (WI) steady play against Steve Bertram (IL) 7-3.

Bromley then faced Bertram in singles notching another win for the Wisconsin team 7-1, while Workman of Illinois grabbed a victory for their team with a singles win against Anderson 7-3. With Wisconsin leading 3-1, Bromley was able to stay on track defeating Ford 7-5 and Bjorkquist took out Workman 7-5 to give their team a 5-1 overall lead.

Bjorkquist showed fine form continuing his winning streak with a solid 7-0 win over Bertram while Ford notched another win for Illinois against Anderson 7-5. This gave Wisconsin the six matches it needed for the win.

In the final matches Workman displayed terrific shot-making with a long hoop shot at hoop 6, then following it up with an impressive angled jump shot at hoop 7, and a clutch long clearing shot at hoop 8 to defeat Bromley 7-2. Bjorkquist finished out the day with a perfect record holding off Ford 7-6.

Alternates for each team were also able to play a few “friendly” matches capping off a wonderful day on the lawns. The Wisconsin team will travel to the Kactus Creek Croquet Club in Parkville, MO on August 19th to play Missouri in the finals.

Illinois v Wisconsin Game Results:
croquetscores.com/2017/gc/state-shields-test/wisconsin-vs-illinois

NOTES

• Steve Jackson is 6-0 in career singles Shield play as his 3-0 performance matched his 3-0 record in the 2016 event.
• Missouri's Matt Smith and Wisconsin's Nels Bjorkquist also still have perfect singles records at 3-0 after the round one action. Something will have to give when the two teams meet on August 19 in Kansas City.
• The bigger question for the championship will be the starting line-up for Missouri. Will 2016 USCA GC National Runner-up and Missouri captain Matt Griffith play in the event? And if so, who gets to sit that one out?
• Organizers plan to expand to at least eight state teams for the 2018 Shield and that progress seems to be on track as two states have already expressed interest in participation next year.