Aug 17, 2016 4:15 PM
CARBONDALE, Colo., August 17, 2016---Aspen Valley Polo Club and Flexjet advanced to the finals of the USPA National Arena Chairman's Cup in a series of six two-chukker games.
Aspen Valley Polo Club's trio of young up-and-coming players Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini and Lucas Lalor defeated La Karina 12-2.5, and Sopris Mountain Ranch 5.5-3, in the opening qualifier Tuesday at windswept Aspen Valley Polo Club. The veteran team of Melissa Ganzi, Juan Bollini and Carlitos Gracida knocked off Grand Champions Polo Club 6-2.5, and Audi 5-3, in the other qualifier.
The final is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. EDT Thursday and will be livestreamed by ChukkerTV. The game will pit mother against son (Melissa and Grant Ganzi) and father against son (Juan and Juancito Bollini) in what promises to be a highly competitive game.
Grant Ganzi, 18, a freshman at Lynn University, led the scoring with six goals in the opening game against La Karina. Lalor added four goals including a two-pointer. Ganzi added another goal to finish with seven. Lalor had two in the win against Sopris Mountain Ranch.
Flexjet got balanced scoring. In the opening game against Grand Champions Polo Club, Gracida led with three goals, Bollini had two and Ganzi added one. In the second game, Bollini and Gracida each had two and Ganzi had one.
In other qualifying two-chukker games, Sopris Mountain Ranch (Segundo Merlos, Stewart Armstrong, Tomacho Pieres) defeated La Karina (Darren Tamplin, Ace Boyd, Julio Novillo Astrada) 5-3.5. Audi (Marc Ganzi, Hilario Figueras, Nic Roldan) defeated Grand Champions Polo Club (Olivia Merlos/Santos Merlos, Will Jacobs, Tincho Merlos) 7-4.5.
The two-day, 9-12 goal outdoor arena tournament, resurrected after a 10-year absence, featured top players Nic Roldan, Tincho Merlos, Julio Novillo Astrada and Tomacho Pieres as well as players making their USPA arena national tournament debut including Stewart Armstrong, Ace Boyd, Darren Tamplin, Will Jacobs, Hilario Figueras and siblings Segundo, Olivia and Santos Merlos.
"It's great to see all these young kids playing. These kids are playing great up here. They are going at it and playing hard. It's fun to watch everyone's skills come up this season," said Aspen Valley Polo Club owner Marc Ganzi. It is the first time Aspen Valley Polo Club has hosted the prestigious event.
"It's huge, it's really great to play one of the big national tournaments here," Marc Ganzi said. "There's only a couple of big major national tournaments that the USPA plays. We feel really privileged to host a USPA event and certainly to do it here on a great night like tonight. The competition is great. Aspen Valley Polo Club has played together for three years in the arena and know each other extremely well."
The last time the tournament was held was in 2006 at Great Meadow Polo Club in The Plains, Virginia. Some of America's most notable names have competed including Billy Linfoot, Tom Goodspeed, Allan Scherer and Will Farish. Aspen Valley Polo Club is one of the busiest polo clubs hosting various grass, indoor and outdoor arena tournaments and has been the hottest ticket during the 2016 summer season.
ChukkerTV, leader in polo broadcasting, is livestreaming the USPA National Arena Chairman's Cup along with the remainder of the 2016 summer season in Aspen and USPA East Coast Open later this month in Greenwich, Connecticut.
ASPEN VALLEY 2016 SUMMER SCHEDULE
Thursday, USPA National Arena Chairman's Cup Final, 4:30 p.m. EDT
Friday-Sunday, Rocky Mountain Open
Aug. 24-28, The Carbondale Classic
CLUB ADDRESS: 3275 County Road 100, Carbondale, Colo. 81623
POLO HOTLINE: 970-710-1663
ASPEN VALLEY POLO CLUB
The exclusive Aspen Valley Polo Club is one of the nation's fastest-growing polo clubs. It offers polo in the summer for players and spectators. The Polo School is available to adults and juniors. It offers individual and group lessons for all levels and ages. For spectators there are great field side views for tournament action, indoor and outdoor arenas and also the Aspen Valley Polo Club Boutique. Everyone is welcome to watch polo in a relaxed atmosphere with complimentary food and refreshments. Admission and parking are free. For Polo On Demand price rates of group and private lessons, arena chukkers, grass chukkers and individualized "Polo Experience" packages email aspenvalleypolo@bellsouth.net or log onto www.aspenvalleypoloclub.com
Effective Date: Saturday, May 16, 2020
The suspension of USPA Tournaments and Events will be lifted for USPA Member Clubs in locales where hosting polo matches and tournaments is permitted under applicable state and local laws, executive orders and similar decrees. The USPA Member Clubs in these locales are encouraged to follow all such requirements of their state and local authorities with respect to polo operations. In addition, we also encourage all USPA Member Clubs to take the precautions recommended by the CDC. We are preparing a detailed list of best practices for USPA Member Clubs as they return to hosting USPA Tournaments and Events and plan to circulate these guidelines within the next week. We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely and will notify you if we determine a different course of action is necessary.
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