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 home town 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 form -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 slug fest 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 13

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

Singles Results
Championship Flight
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
 
First Flight
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 
 
Second Flight
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

Doubles Results
Championship Flight
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
 
First Flight Doubles
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