US Polo Assn. to play Flexjet in Aspen World Snow Polo final
By Alex Webbe
The U.S. Polo Assn. (Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini and Nic Roldan) scored opening wins over Audi (Marc Ganzi, Ricky Cooper and Tommy Biddle) and ChukkerTV in the opening round-robin of the 2015 Aspen World Snow Polo Thursday afternoon at the Aspen Valley Polo Club’s indoor arena to earn a spot in Saturday’s final.
In the first chukker of the opening round-robin Juancito Bollini led the US Polo Assn. attack with four goals. Grant Ganzi added a goal for a 5-0 lead. Tommy Biddle finally got Audi on the scoreboard with a goal from the field but trailed 5-1.
Nic Roldan scored his first goal of the game in the second period and the team picked up a goal on a Penalty 1. Biddle added three more goals for Audi along with a goal awarded on a Penalty 1 but it was the US Polo Assn. with the 7-5 win.
ChukkerTV 7, Audi 5
Audi remained in the arena for the next leg of play, facing a determined ChukkerTV lineup (Bernie Uechtritz, Martin Pepa and Mariano Gracida) as they tried to right the ship in their second mini-match of the day.
Audi had to spot the ChukkerTV one goal on handicap but quickly reversed positions as Arena 10-goaler Tommy Biddle scored the first two goals of the game (a goal from the field and a penalty conversion) for a 2-1 edge. Mariano Gracida responded with consecutive goals of his own as ChukkerTV moved in front, 3-2.
Biddle tied the game at 3-3 with the opening goal of the second period when ChukkerTV roared back. Four more goals from Gracida (two on penalty conversions) were countered by another score from Biddle and a goal from Marc Ganzi but it was Chukker TV who rode off with the 7-5 victory.
US Polo Assn. 10, ChukkerTV 5
After sitting down for two chukkers, the US Polo Assn. showed no signs of offensive atrophy as they rang up five goals. Nic Roldan scored four times with Grant Ganzi adding a goal. ChukkerTV received one goal by handicap and picked up a pair of goals from Mariano Gracida (once from the field and once on a penalty shot). The US Polo Assn. left the arena after the opening chukker on top of a 5-3 score.
The two teams were each awarded a goal on Penalty 1 calls as the second period got underway. The US Polo Assn. continued to lead, 6-4. Roldan added a penalty conversion for a goal, 7-4, followed by a pair of goals from Grant Ganzi for a 9-4 advantage. Roldan made it 10-4 with time running out and the Chukker TV offense out of synch. Bernie Uechtritz scored the final goal of the game as time expired and the US Polo Assn. celebrated the 10-5 triumph and a berth in Saturday’s tournament final. The 1-1 ChukkerTV record would put them in the Aspen World Snow Polo consolation match.
Flexjet 8, One Sandy Lane 4
In the second round-robin of the Aspen World Snow Polo Championship, a talented Flexjet team (Melissa Ganzi, Juan Bollini and Jeff Hall) spotted One Sandy Lane (Bash Kazi, Martin Estrada and Brandon Phillips) a goal by handicap before Jeff Hall exploded for five consecutive goals (three on penalty conversions) to take the early 5-1 lead.
The two teams traded goals in the final seven minutes of play with Hall adding three more while One Sandy Lane came up with a pair of goals from Martin Estrada and a single goal from Bash Kazi. The win would allow Flexjet to sit out the ensuing two periods of lay while One Sandy Lane would face St. Regis (Brian Boyd, Carlitos Gracida and Nacho Figueras) of the round-robin’s second leg of play.
St. Regis 6, Sandy Lane One 5½
The much heralded Nacho Figueras set the early pace for his St. Regis team by scoring the opening goal of the game. He would add another goal later with teammates Carlitos Gracida and Brian Boyd each scoring for a 4-½ goal lead (Sandy Lane One received one-half goal by handicap to start).
One Sandy Lane bounced back in the second chukker behind an offensive barrage from Brandon Phillips. Three penalty goals and a goal from the field from Phillips and a goal from the field from Martin Estrada brought them close but St. Regis managed to hand on for their first win of the day, 6-5½. The victory would pit St. Regis (1-0) against Flexjet (1-0), with the winner going on to face the US Polo Assn. in the Aspen World Snow Polo Championship final on Saturday.
Flexjet 6, St. Regis 3½
It was a surprising finish t the day with two offensive powerhouses pitching defensive battles that resulted in the lowest scoring match of the day. Flexjet scored eight times in their opening match while St. Regis tallied six times in their first games of the day, but it would be defense that would carry the day for Flexjet against St. Regis.
St. Regis received one-half goal by handicap with Nacho Figueras extending the led to 1½ to 0 with the game’s first goal from the field. Goals from Melissa Ganzi and Juan Bollini had Flexjet ahead at the end of the chukker, 2-1½.
The pace was fast and the play moved rapidly up and down the field as the second and final chukker unfolded. Juan Bollini and Nacho Figueras added goals, 3-2½ before Jeff Hall’s first goal of the match had Flexjet in front, 4-2½. Nacho Figueras took control of the ball at the St. Regis end of the field and raced the length of the arena to score, cutting the Flexjet lead to one-half goal, 4-3½. With Flexjet on the attack, an errant clearing stroke of the ball by Carlitos Gracida went into the St. Regis goal and extended the Flexjet lead to 5-3½. St. Regis struggled to get back into the game but the clock was on the side of Flexjet. A final goal from Juan Bollini sealed the deal, giving Flexjet the 6-3½ win and a spot in the final against the U.S. Polo Assn. St. Regis would be playing in Saturday’s consolation match against Chukker TV.
The next Aspen World Snow Polo match is scheduled to be played for the St. Regis Cup at 1pm (MST) on Friday, December 18th at Aspen’s Rio Grande Park between Audi and One Sandy Lane.
ChukkerTV, worldwide leaders in polo broadcasting, will live stream all of the remaining games of the St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship. It is the first time the much-anticipated tournament will be live streamed in its entirety and exclusively by ChukkerTV.