Jun 20, 2017 6:21 PM
Five competitive teams are in the hunt for the most prestigious 12-goal tournament played at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club in Carpinteria, California, the Pacific Coast Intra-Circuit Cup. Klentner Ranch, Farmers & Merchants Bank and Mokarow Farms join Why Not and Brookland Plantation for the final tournament. Hana Grill joined forces with three of last year’s winners to form Why Not, while Thomas Ravenel took over the Lucchese crew as Brookland Plantation.
On Friday, June 16, in the first match of the tournament between Why Not and Brookland Plantation, Santi Trotz turned on the afterburners, driving his team to victory with seven goals in addition to four from Felipe Vercellino and a final goal from Jim Wright. Trotz excelled at the penalty line, scoring three penalty 3 and two penalty 2 conversions, while Vercellino dominated the field with all four of his goals coming from the grass.
The second matchup of the day between Mokarow Farms and Farmers & Merchants Bank (FMB) pitted two tough teams against each other to the bitter end. Sterling Giannico subbed for Todd Offen on Mokarow Farms. Farmers & Merchants Bank controlled the scoring from the field, with Marianno Fassetta scoring five field goals, but a host of penalties against FMB proved to be their Achilles heel. Mokarow Farm's Panelo duo has proven to be a deadly force on the field, with all ten goals coming from a Panelo mallet. Mokarow Farms played a disciplined game, minimizing their fouls and ultimately giving them the victory.
In the Sunday morning, June 18, match both FMB and Brookland Plantation were in a must-win scenario. In the five-star draw, four teams advance out of the qualifying round to the semifinals and both entered into the match 0-1 after losing their first round games. FMB gained a slight advantage in the first half of play, but only a one-goal spread separated the two teams at halftime. Two goals by Remy Muller and one each by Ignacio Del Tour and Thomas Ravenel pulled Brookland Plantation ahead by one in the fourth chukker. FMB forcefully answered back, scoring four goals while holding Brookland Plantation scoreless. A goal by each team in the final chukker kept FMB in the lead, giving them the win and the semi final spot.
After coming up short in the previous final, Klentner Ranch came looking for revenge in the second game of the day. Why Not held Klentner Ranch tight the first two chukkers keeping the scoring even 2-all before Klentner Ranch pulled ahead in the third 5-4. Klentner Ranch fought through the second half, slowly adding to their tally as Why Not struggled to gain momentum for their offense. Each team scored three additional goals in the final chukker, but Why Not was unable to overcome the early lead established by Klentner Ranch.
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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