WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — For the second consecutive year, the Woodlawn Croquet Club has claimed a national title.

Competing last week at the U.S. Croquet Association Club Team Championships at the National Croquet Center, Woodlawn came away with the championship trophy for Division II, edging the West River Wickets by two points.

Forty-one teams from across the country were on hand for the five-day team competition, and as they did a year ago, the Woodlawn doubles combinations turned in some strong performances with two of them picking up trophies.

In the second flight, the duo of Perry Mattson of Surry and Randall McAndrews of Seal Harbor avenged a semifinal loss to the team of Alexis Gagne and Laura O’Laughlin.

That championship final, described by a tournament spokesman as “the best game of the event,” involved numerous extra turns before Mattson finally finished things off, hitting the peg for a 15-13 win.

In the fourth flight, the Woodlawn duo of Charles Alexander and Tim McCormick, both of Ellsworth, reached the finals before falling 13-10 to the duo of Rodney Calver and Tom Stoner.

And in the third flight, two Woodlawn duos — Jeanne Fernald of Somesville and Sturgis Haskins of Sorrento and Julia Carrell of Seal Cove and Elaine Dow of Ellsworth — competed but finished in the lower half of the 10-team flight.

Championship croquet uses six wickets and is played on 100-foot grass courts, laser-leveled and mowed to a sixteenth of an inch, like putting greens.

The game has seen an upswing in popularity in the Hancock County area in recent years as new courts have appeared.

Woodlawn — based at the historic Black House in Ellsworth — now hosts a couple of major events, including the Maine/New Hampshire State Croquet Championships, and offers an extensive lineup of instructional and competitive events through the summer.

For more sports news, pick up a copy of The Ellsworth American.