M A G and Park Place Remain Undefeated in U.S. Open Polo Championship®
Day nine of competition in the U.S. Open Polo Championship at the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC) featured doubleheader action between M A G (Santino Magrini, Ignacio ‘Nachi’ Viana, Kristos ‘Keko’ Magrini, Santiago ‘Santi’ Toccalino) versus Dutta Corp/Show+ (Joaquin Avendaño, Mariano ‘Nino’ Obregon, Tomas Garcia del Rio, Timmy Dutta), followed by Aspen (Mariano Gonzalez, Francisco ‘Pancho’ Bensadon, Rufino Bensadon, Stewart Armstrong) against Park Place (Andrey Borodin, Juan Britos, Hilario Ulloa, Jason Wates).
Competing under a new moniker, M A G (formerly Shack Attack) struck first on a goal from Keko Magrini, but early foul troubles for M A G allowed Dutta Corp/Show+’s del Rio to convert on three penalty attempts. Tied 4-all at the end of the second chukker, three unanswered from Toccalino, including two from the field gave M A G a narrow 8-5 lead at the break. Back at the line in the second half, del Rio continued to produce for Dutta Corp/Show+, hitting four of five, as M A G found themselves relying on the field goal to keep the match tied 11-all. Despite committing fourteen fouls throughout the game, it would be a Penalty 2 from Toccalino and a field goal by Keko Magrini to hang on for the nail-biting 13-11 victory.
In the second match of Wednesday’s double header, Park Place got off to a hot start on field goals from Ulloa, Britos, and Wates. Struggling to find the goal in open play, Rufino Bensadon kept Aspen in contention converting twice from the line, but three from Ulloa in the first half gave Park Place a 6-3 advantage. Kept off the scoreboard in the fourth, Park Place responded on back-to-back drives from Borodin and Britos. Trailing by four to open the sixth Rufino Bensadon rallied for Aspen, but the diversified attack of their opponents was too much to overcome as Park Place claimed the 11-8 win.
Best Playing Pony was awarded to “Don Ercole Patraña,” played by Kristos ‘Keko’ Magrini, owned by Matias Magrini and “Latia Kavaska,” played and owned by Hilario Ulloa.
Upcoming Schedule:
Thursday, April 6
Dazos (1-0) vs Pilot (1-0) at 10:00am ET
All games of the U.S. Open Polo Championship will be livestreamed exclusively on the USPA Polo Network.
Photo Credit: David Lominska