North Carolina’s national title haul continues. Every year since 1999, at least one North Carolina croquet player has brought home a major USCA title. The current run now includes twelve national titles¹.

Paul Scott (Raleigh) and Jeff Soo (Chapel Hill) started the streak when they won the 1999 American-rules doubles title. The next year Soo was the American-rules singles champion. In 2001 Scott won American-rules singles and he and Soo again won in doubles. In 2002 Soo won the singles and he and Scott repeated in doubles, and they also won in international-rules doubles, making Soo the only player ever to win three major USCA titles in the same year. In 2003 Soo and Scott repeated as international-rules doubles champions. In 2004 Bob Cherry (Pinehurst) won the international-rules singles championship, and Scott won his fifth consecutive doubles title, partnered with Jerry Stark (Middletown, CA). And this year Danny Huneycutt (Lexington) won the international-rules singles title, while Soo won his third American-rules singles title.

The recent title bonanza continues a tradition of national croquet champions from North Carolina. Mack Penwell (Pinehurst) won the American-rules singles title in 1993. He, in turn, has been a mentor to all four of the current crop of champions. Damon Bidencope (Charlotte) long held the record for most USCA national titles—he won seven between 1987 and 1991 (although he was not a North Carolina resident for the entire period). Bob Yount (Huntersville) and Bill Berne (Bald Head Island) have each won a national doubles title.

¹ Events considered “national championships” are the USCA National Championship (American rules), the USCA International Rules National Championship, and the USCA Golf Croquet National Championship.