Cedar Croft and $ D to Compete in the Final of the 2014 U.S. Open Arena Polo Championship®
Watch the Championship and Handicap Finals – Saturday, July 12th beginning @ 5:00 p.m. EDT on Chukker.tv
Two hard fought battles took place last night in arena polo at Country Farms Polo Club in Medford, New York for the third day of competition in the 2014 U.S. Open Arena Polo Championship. The first match of the evening began with I/I Polo (Nik Feldman, Todd Thurston and August Scherer), a team comprised of some of Intercollegiate Polo’s best and brightest athletes, against Golden Zebra (Jay Fetner, Jose Raphael Zegers and Gonzalo Fucci).
In the 1st chukker, Golden Zebra got off to a great start scoring the first 2 goals of the night by Zegers and Fucci. I/I Polo would answer back scoring 4 points, 3 by Scherer and 1 by Feldman, to Golden Zebra’s 3 to conclude the 1st chukker. After the second chukker, the score was all tied up at 7-7 as both teams battled for control of the scoreboard. The second half of the match fell in favor of Golden Zebra scoring 9 goals to I/I Polo’s 5. Scherer was I/I Polo’s strongest player, scoring 6 of their 12 goals in the match, while Feldman and Thurston split the remaining scored goals 3-3. For Golden Zebra, both Fucci and Zegers dominated, scoring both 8 goals a piece. The final score was 16-12 advancing Golden Zebra to the Handicap Finals.
The evening concluded with Cedar Croft (Robert Ceparano, Felipe Viana and Kris Kampsen) and Equueleus (Joe DiMenna, Brandon Phillips and Joao Paulo Ganon) competing for chance to play in Saturday’s Championship Game against $ D.
The match got off to a very quick start for Cedar Croft as they dominated the first half by scoring 4 goals in the 1st chukker and 6 in the 2nd to Equueleus’s 2 goals thanks to Kampsen’s 6 goals. Cedar Croft
went uncontested in the 2nd chukker. In the 2nd half, Phillips helped motivate his team by scoring a spot hit penalty 5 shot from 75 yards away. Equueleus would then rally back out scoring Cedar Croft 9-3. Ganon from Equueleus went on a hot streak after Phillips 75 yard goal scoring 6 of the 9 earned points. However, Equueleus’s strong effort wasn’t enough to make a comeback. Cedar Croft managed to sneak a few goals past to win by 2 points for a final score of 13-11.
Cedar Croft will advance to the U.S. Open Arena Polo Championship where they will face-off against $ D to defend their title, while Equueleus will compete in the U.S. Arena Handicap final against Golden Zebra.
“This premier high goal tournament features the best arena polo competition in the country, and highlights the only ten-goal arena player in the world, Tommy Biddle. We are very pleased with the efforts Bobby Ceparano and Country Farms Polo have put forth in hosting a national USPA tournament of this caliber,” said USPA CEO, Peter Rizzo.
Both games take place tomorrow, Saturday, July 12, starting at 5:00 pm for the U.S. Arena Handicap final followed by the U.S. Open Arena Polo Championship final at 7:00 p.m. The games will be streamed live on www.chukker.tv/ by the PoloNow Network, and sponsored by the United States Polo Association with coverage beginning at 5:00 pm EDT.
If you’re in the Long Island area, you can save your spot on the sidelines of this historic event by visiting www.country-farms.com to purchase your tickets.
Match Ups & Teams Rosters:
U.S. Open Finals
$D
(1) Dan Coleman
(4) Will Tankard
(10) Tommy Biddle
15 Goals
Cedar Croft
(2) Robert N. Ceparano
(6) Felipe Viana
(7) Kris Kampsen
15 Goals
Handicap Finals
Golden Zebra
(1) Jay Fetner
(5) Jose Raphael Zegers
(6) Ganzalo Fucci
12 Goals
Equueleus
(0) Joe DiMenna
(5) Brandon Phillips
(8) Joao Paulo Ganon
13 Goals