2008 Woodie Awards
Croquet repeats as national champs
Patrick McArdle
Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: Sports
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Both Clark-Brown and Orsbon picked up competitive croquet late in their lives, and they began playing with each other last year. While last year's win was unexpected, this year the duo went in with a championship to defend. Fortunately, their experience allowed them to persevere against competition from schools like Navy and William and Mary.
The pair played in the qualifying match on Saturday to determine Sunday's seeding. With wins of 7-5, 7-3, 7-3 and 6-3 and only one loss on the afternoon, the Wildcats tied for the highest rank with Peter Hatfield and Chris Monahan of William and Mary. The Wildcats won the tie-breaking coin toss to secure the important top seed.
Sunday started with a match against David Cole and Conor Hargis of the US Naval Academy. Building on their momentum from Saturday, Clark-Brown and Orsbon defeated the sailors by a score of 7-3.
Their semi-finals match-up also pitted them against a pair from Navy, this time the duo of Lou Calabrese and Douglas Clague. The teams had history with one another, since Davidson beat this Navy squad in the finals of last year's competition. On Saturday, they beat the pair 7-3 in the qualifying round. While they struggled a bit more on Sunday, Davidson still continued its domination in the matchup, winning the semi-final by a score of 7-5.
Meeting the other top-seeded team in the finals, Davidson used last year's experience to keep their intensity high. Although Brown and Orsbon fell behind in the early going, they rallied to win the match 7-6 in dramatic fashion.
Clark-Brown and Orsbon will have next year to add a third title to their impressive repeat performance.
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