U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S HANDICAP® | U.S. POLO ASSN.

November 16 - 19, 2023

U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S HANDICAP®

The U.S. Open Women's Handicap Final will be available On-Demand exclusively on the USPA Polo Network.

U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S HANDICAP®

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The U.S. Open Women’s Handicap was established in 1979 to showcase women’s polo following the inclusion of women into the United States Polo Association in 1972. The inaugural tournament was held at Carmel Valley Polo Club in Carmel, California. An excerpt from the 1980 USPA Bluebook describes the results, “the Women’s U.S. Handicap, sponsored by the USPA, was won by Carmel Valley. Representatives from five states played on four teams entered. Sunset [Sunny] Hale (age 10), Susie Welker, Sue Sally Hale and Stormie Hale were the champions beating Modesto, Jan Walker, Oatsie Von Gontard, Susan Walton and Bonni Middleton 4-1. Top scoring, Sue Sally Hale—nine for both days.”

A staple in the USPA calendar, the U.S. Open Women’s Handicap was played for 15 consecutive years, primarily at Willow Bend Polo Club in Plano, Texas. During this time American Airlines dominated the competition with a remarkable five-year winning streak (1988-1992), key players Maggie Mitchell and Kim Kelly together formed part of each winning team. The tournament then took residence at The Villages Polo Club in The Villages, Florida, throughout the late 90s and early 2000s. Many top women’s players have captured this illustrious title, including Vickie Armour, Alina Carta, Cindy Halle, Carolyn Stimmel, Lesley-Ann Masterton Fong-Yee and Oatsie von Gontard.

From 2003 to 2014 the U.S. Open Women’s Handicap fell into abeyance. It was revived in 2015 at Houston Polo Club (Houston, Texas) with the reemergence of the U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship. Since relocating to Houston Polo Club, notable repeat champions include Lia Salvo (2015, 2016, 2017), Grace Mudra (2016, 2017, 2022), Carolyn Stimmel (2016, 2017), Joanie Jackson (2019, 2021), Athena Malin (2019, 2021) KC Krueger (2020, 2022) and Stephanie Colburn (2020, 2021).

In 2022, the exhilarating finale featured a head-to-head battle between QR Jets (Grace Mudra, Lily Lequerica, KC Krueger, Sarah Wiseman) and BCI/Alliant (Cara Kennedy, Sophie Grant, Maddie Grant, Anna Winslow-Palacios). Assembling at Tonkawa’s Wilson field, the captivating showdown was the second of two tight contests between the two teams. Falling just short to BCI/Alliant 8-6 in bracket play, QR Jets turned to strategy and discipline to prevail against their familiar foes in a back-and-forth rematch to clench the coveted title 7-5. Read article here.

This year's edition of the U.S. Open Women's Handicap will feature a talented field of four teams competing for the title, including numerous returning competitors to the national stage. QR Jets will attempt to defend their title alongside new addition Madison Jordan to the roster. Reigning champion Grace Mudra will seek her fourth victory, joining last year's finalists BCI/Alliant. Team USPA alumnae Tiamo Hudspeth and Audry Persano unite for Lugano Diamonds, as each member of Propaganda will vie to reach the top of the U.S. Open Women's Handicap podium for the first time.

Houston Polo Club will be taking advantage of the USPA's Tournament Support Program (TSP) for the U.S. Open Women's Handicap, which provides eligible USPA Member Clubs with waived tournament fees, trophies or trophy reimbursements, one professional umpire and $2,500 in prize money at no extra cost.

The USPA originally created the Tournament Stimulus Package (TSP) to help member clubs host USPA events when the United States was emerging from the first wave of the COVID-19 crisis. The USPA wanted to continue to support member clubs with TSP benefits in 2022. Therefore, it extended and expanded TSP under a new name - the Tournament Support Program. Each USPA Member Club can obtain TSP benefits for two USPA events, with the option of a third under specific circumstances.

2022 U.S. Open Women's Handicap Champions: QR Jets - Sarah Wiseman, KC Krueger, Lily Lequerica, Grace Mudra. Pictured with QR Jets' sponsor Todd Riemenschneider. ©Kaylee Wroe

U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S HANDICAP®

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

All teams will play two qualifying matches each. Teams with the top two records will automatically advance to the U.S. Open Women's Handicap final. If two teams have tied records and they did not play each other, the tie will be broken by a shootout. If two teams have tied records and they have played each other, the tie is broken by who beat who. If three or more teams have tied records, the tie is also broken by a shootout.

TEAMS AND ROSTERS

Bracket I

Bracket II

Bracket III

Bracket IV

Bracket V

Bracket VI

Bracket VII

Bracket VIII

Bracket IX

Bracket X

Lugano Diamonds (2-1)

player photo
Audry Persano
Women's Outdoor: 5
player photo
Tiamo Hudspeth
Women's Outdoor: 5
player photo
Dayelle Fargey
Women's Outdoor: 7
player photo
Kendall Plank
Women's Outdoor: 3

QR Jets (2-1)

player photo
Lily Lequerica
Women's Outdoor: 4
player photo
Madison Jordan
Women's Outdoor: 3
player photo
KC Krueger
Women's Outdoor: 6
player photo
Sarah Wiseman
Women's Outdoor: 7

BCI/Alliant (1-1)

player photo
Cara Kennedy
Women's Outdoor: 2
player photo
Grace Mudra
Women's Outdoor: 4
player photo
Maddie Grant
Women's Outdoor: 6
player photo
Lottie Lamacraft
Women's Outdoor: 6

Propaganda (0-2)

player photo
Alyson Poor
Women's Outdoor: 4
player photo
Kaile Roos
Women's Outdoor: 3
player photo
Malia Bryan
Women's Outdoor: 5
player photo
Erica Gandomcar-Sachs
Women's Outdoor: 5

U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S HANDICAP®

TOURNAMENT GAMES

Thursday, Nov 16, 2023

November 16

Final

U.S. Open Women's Handicap®

Houston Polo Club

BCI/Alliant logo

BCI/Alliant (1-1)

6

Propaganda logo

Propaganda (0-2)

5.5

November 16

Final

U.S. Open Women's Handicap®

Houston Polo Club

Lugano Diamonds logo

Lugano Diamonds (2-1)

2

QR Jets logo

QR Jets (2-1)

5

Saturday, Nov 18, 2023

November 18

Final

U.S. Open Women's Handicap®

Houston Polo Club

BCI/Alliant logo

BCI/Alliant (1-1)

4.5

Lugano Diamonds logo

Lugano Diamonds (2-1)

6

November 18

Final

U.S. Open Women's Handicap®

Houston Polo Club

Propaganda logo

Propaganda (0-2)

6

QR Jets logo

QR Jets (2-1)

7

Sunday, Nov 19, 2023

November 19

Final

U.S. Open Women's Handicap®

Houston Polo Club

QR Jets logo

QR Jets (2-1)

5

Lugano Diamonds logo

Lugano Diamonds (2-1)

6

U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S HANDICAP®

TOURNAMENT NEWS

U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S HANDICAP®

THE VENUE

A few minutes from downtown Houston, Texas, you will find the Houston Polo Club (HPC) located on 26 manicured acres. Established in 1928, HPC is one of Texas’ oldest clubs, comprised of the Bayou Club’s original fields and stables, as well as a tack shop, stick-and-ball field, hitting cage and covered arena. In addition, HPC has three fields in Brookshire, Texas, and access to over 18 other fields through private ranches. The club has proven to be a mainstay in American polo since its inception and has hosted and produced its fair share of notable professional players over nearly a century.

HPC has been providing the Southwestern Circuit with not only world-class polo, but the opportunity to learn and progress as an individual player. Houston’s league structure is considered to be one of the best in the country, and can accommodate any skill level. The polo school is run by 2-goaler Mark Prinsloo. The Houston Polo School offers an eight-week instructional course in both the spring and fall seasons that strives to nurture players as they develop their skills. Upon graduation from the polo school, players join the Margarita League. The next level in the nationally recognized Step Up Program is the 2-Goal League, followed by the Club League, an intermediate level in which players hire their own polo professional. Once graduated from the Club League, players have opportunities to participate in USPA sanctioned and national tournaments, as well as many tournaments held by the club.

Polo is played almost year-round with the club offering a fall and spring season, followed by summer leagues, winter arena and interscholastic polo. During the fall, HPC hosts numerous USPA tournaments and a week of women’s tournaments highlighted by the U.S. Open Women’s Handicap.


8552 Memorial Dr
Houston, TX 77024
View Map
Club Website Club Profile