Impressive McKibbin wraps up C-Level title with game to spare

PHYLLIS Court’s Dee McKibbin won Croquet England’s National C-Level title with a crushing victory at the National Final last weekend. Club mate Carol Huntington was runner-up, giving the Henley club an unprecedented “one-two” result at Compton Croquet Club in Eastbourne.

McKibbin and Huntington had qualified for the final as winners of C-Level Series tournaments earlier in the season with the former victorious at Woking and the latter being a double winner at both Roehampton and Guildford.

McKibbin enjoyed a good first day with a faultless eight out of eight game wins to head the strong
16-player field, who were themselves all winners of qualifying tournaments around the country.

Huntington ended her day embedded in chasing pack on five wins, in the demanding all play all format of 15 games in the weekend. The Phyllis Court pair didn’t let up on day two either and McKibbin romped to a further six wins from seven, dropping only one game 7-6 to Paul Stroud of Guildford and she wrapped-up the national title with a round to spare.

Huntington repeated her first day five game-winning haul to end on 10 wins for the tournament and in a tie with Lisa Furnival of Eynsham, but the Phyllis Court player had the better net hoops tally of +18 to +10 so claimed the runner-up position.

Phyllis Court also had a presence in the National B-Level Series final the previous weekend for which both Rob Eagle and Alastair McKibbin qualified, via victories in Phyllis Court’s own series tournament and in the latter’s case at Cheltenham.

However, in the final Eagle missed out 7-6 three times but ended winless and Broom had to withdraw pre-tournament with an injury.

Further away from Phyllis Court, a 10-strong player contingent are giving the Henley club a strong presence at the annual Greek Association Croquet (AC) Open tournament in Corfu.

The handicap doubles event has been completed with Phyllis Court pair Chris Roberts and Frances Colman to the fore in the early rounds, chased by Kevin Ward and his partner Alan Clark (High Wycombe), and Rick Lilley and Sara Anderson (Woking), but no pair was undefeated by the end of round four, leaving the event wide open.

Golf croquet player Maureen Ward had agreed to step in as last-minute replacement to cover for an injury and, guided in her first ever association croquet game by the experienced Ian Anderson (Woking), the pair were in contention at that stage.

After the sixth and final round, David Warhurst (Budleigh) and Karen Quilter (Corfu) won the event, one win ahead of four other pairs including Roberts and Colman, and Lilley and Anderson.