Aug 02, 2022 6:41 PM
This past weekend at Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club (Carpinteria, California), the Farmers & Merchants Bank Silver Cup semifinalists were decided after the third and fourth rounds of bracket play concluded. With four action-packed games filled with player substitutions, game upsets and overall impressive play, the end of regulation did not disappoint.
The first game on Sunday, July 31, seeded BenSoleimani.com (Ben Soleimani, Lucas “Luckitas” Criado Jr., Igancio “Iñaki” Laprida, Jeff Hall*) against Farmers & Merchants Bank (Danny Walker, Lucas Criado, Facundo Obregon, Peke Gonzalez*). BenSoleimani.com took an early and substantial lead, skyrocketing the score to 7-1 after just three chukkers.
Determined to get back in the game, Farmers & Merchants Bank emerged with a renewed energy in the second half and began to claw their way back into contention, but their noble efforts would be too little too late. BenSoleimani.com triumphed 10-7 over Farmers & Merchants Bank to end bracket play with a 3-1 record. Both teams, however, will advance to the semifinals.
Sunday’s featured game found Antelope (Grant Palmer, Joaquin Avendaño, Matias Torres Zavaleta, Felipe Vercellino, sub. Poroto Cambiaso) clashing with Klentner Ranch (Justin Klentner, Jake Klentner*, Jesse Bray*, Santiago Toccalino, sub. Segundo Saravi, sub. Luke Klentner). Antelope’s Zavaleta experienced an injury during Friday’s game, so Cambiaso was brought in as a substitute. Klentner Ranch also substituted players, with Saravi and Luke Klentner in for Justin Klentner and Jake Klentner.
Antelope found the lead early on, ending the half up 6-4, with five of their goals scored by Cambiaso. They held onto this lead, while Klentner Ranch gave their best efforts to fight back. Antelope held strong to their advantage and won 14-11. Vercellino’s horse, Luca, won Best Playing Pony honors for the match.
The Farmers & Merchants Bank Silver Cup Semifinals will begin on Friday, August 5 exclusively on Global Polo TV, with BenSoleimani.com meeting Antelope at 4:00pm ET/1:00pm PT and L.E.N.Y. (Santino Magrini, Paquito de Narvaez, Kristos "Keko" Magrini, Matias Magrini) later battling Farmers & Merchants Bank at 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT.
The winners from these two semifinal games will advance to the final, which will be played on Sunday, August 7 at 5:00PM ET/2:00PM PT. The USPA America Cup Final will also be played on Sunday, August 7.
*Kristos "Keko Magrini" is a Team USPA Member. Jake Klentner, Jesse Bray and Peke Gonzalez and Santino Magrini are Team USPA alumni. Team USPA is a USPA program designed to enhance and grow the sport of polo in the United States by identifying young, talented American players and providing mentored training and playing opportunities leading to a pool of higher rated amateur and pro players and the resultant giveback to the sport of polo.
All photos courtesy of ©David Lominska.
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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