and ’12 and Mark Millard ’12 travelled to Philadelphia, Pa. to compete in and win the Collegiate National Championship in Golf Croquet.
“The competition was intense, but we made it through,” Gilliland said. “All of our matches were close, including five wins by only one wicket. Mark’s go-for-it attitude and my experience at the tournament made a deadly combination.”
Gilliland began playing croquet his freshman year at Davidson, after being introduced to the sport by a friend.
“His stories of national championships and infinite glory really inspired me to join and pursue croquet more,” he said.
Millard, who has been playing for less than a year, was also introduced to the sport by friends. After playing a few times, he was approached by Coach William Brown about playing with Gilliland and they have been practicing together since then.
Golf croquet consists of a series of wickets—which are wide enough to accommodate the ball and about a dime-sized space on either side—and the first ball through each wicket “wins” the wicket, and the team with the most wickets winning the game.
The championship was held at Merion Cricket Club in Haverford, Pa., with Davidson playing and winning all five of Saturday’s round-robin style matches, gaining the third seed in Sunday’s bracket.
Sunday, the team battled three SUNY New Paltz teams before facing the US Naval Academy team in the final. All in all, they went 9-0.
“When Mark made the last wicket for the win, I could barely contain my excitement. I felt like flying,” Gilliland said. “This is probably one of the greatest moments of my life. It was awesome to go up there, go 9-0 and bring home the glory for good ole Davidson.”
Millard agreed, also focusing on the “fun” aspect of the tournament.
“The weather and the facilities were unbelievable, so that made it all the more exciting. Both Mac and I, before the tournament started, said that no matter what we were going to try to enjoy ourselves, and it just so happened that the more we won, the more fun we had, so we didn’t feel like stopping,” he said. “A lot of credit goes out to Mac because he was so steady and so understanding throughout the whole tournament.”
Millard also cited his teammates’ positive attitude as a helpful influence throughout the competition.
“I was basically shooting NBA three’s in every match and would hit or miss by a lot and [Mac] stayed positive and kept a smile where a lot of other people might be frustrated,” he said.
Davidson has a history with golf croquet. Besides having a PE class in which students can learn the basics, in 2006, David Orsbon ’09 and Douglas Clark-Brown ’09 won the same championship.
In addition, Millard encouraged all those interested in learning more about golf croquet to join Coach Brown and the team on Smith Field.
“If the weather is nice, it’s just about the most relaxing sport there is,” he said. “It’s [a] really nice break from school and soccer for me—a way for me to really clear my head.”
Students interested can look for the PE class available in the fall, coached by William Brown, which meets on Smith Field.
Sophomores bring home trophy
Mac Gilliland ’12, Mark Millard ’12 win Collegiate Championship in golf croquet
Published: Thursday, April 29, 2010
Updated: Thursday, April 29, 2010 13:04
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