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Participating Teams
Bendabout
C-Spear
Pony Express
Airstream
Skeeterville
Loro Piana
Black Watch
Catamount
Isla Carroll
White Birch
Orchard Hill
Lechuza Caracas
Las Monjitas
Millarville
Old Pueblo
Quarterfinals on Sun. Apr. 17
Game 1: 1st vs. 8th place
Game 2: 2nd vs. 7th place
Game 3: 3rd vs. 6th place
Game 4: 4th vs. 5th place
Semi-Finals on Wed. Apr. 20
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 4
Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3
FINALS
Sun. Apr. 24 3:00 pm
• Three brackets of five, each team
plays the other teams within their bracket.
• Top two teams in each bracket go to quarterfinal.
• Best two third place teams go to quarterfinal, based
on USPA Blue Book criteria.
• Eight teams in quarterfinals will be ranked according
to record
Iglehart
Joe Barry Memorial
Ylvisaker
Hall Of
Fame
C. V. Whitney
Goodman, who founded International Polo Club, looked at the tournament
through an executive’s eyes. “The club has done a good job,” Goodman said.
“There’s a lot of good (polo) organizations here. Overall, this is as good a
tournament as you can get.”
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Sponsored by
Stanford Financial Group
March 30-April 24 at
International Polo Club Palm
Beach
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The most prestigious polo tournament
in the country, a 26-goal tournament
is scheduled to begin March 30 with
the final on Sunday, April 24 at the
International Polo Club Palm Beach,
the premier high-goal polo club in
the United States. The proud sponsor
is the Stanford Financial Group a
privately-held global network of
affiliated companies.
The world's top polo players have
lined up with their own strategies
in place to clinch this coveted
trophy. With nine 10-goalers playing
in the 15 competing teams it is
going to be some show of player
skill and horsepower.
“Stanford is pleased and excited to
be returning as the title sponsor
for the prestigious U.S. Open Polo
Championship,” said Jay Comeaux,
President of the Stanford Group
Company. Himself an avid polo
player, Comeaux noted, “We are a
global company and polo is a
universal sport. We proudly support
premier polo and equestrian events
around the world. Last year’s final
was fabulous, both in terms of the
competitiveness of the game and the
ambience with the large crowd.”
“This event is the highlight of our
season and we are excited about our
continuing relationship with a
quality company,” said John Goodman,
founder of International Polo Club
Palm Beach. “Stanford Financial
Group is like a member of our
family,” added Goodman, who played
on the U.S. Open championship Isla
Carroll team in 2004 and 1997. “This
is great for polo and the club.”
Stanford Financial Group has the
opportunity to continue as title
sponsors as long as the U.S. Open is
held at the International Polo Club
Palm Beach, according to Goodman.
Traditionally, clubs bid annually to
host the U.S. Open. International
Polo Club Palm Beach will host the
U.S. Open through the 2007 season,
according to the United States Polo
Association (USPA), the sport’s
governing body in the U.S.
“To have a world-class company as
the title sponsor of the most
prestigious polo tournament in the
United States is extremely crucial
for the future of the sport,” said
Peter Rizzo, executive director of
the USPA. “We hope the Stanford
Financial Group will be the U.S.
Open title sponsor for a very long
time.”
This year’s 15 entrants ties the
record set in 2002. Thirteen teams
entered the Stanford Financial Group
U.S. Open in 2004. New teams this
year are Airstream, Black Watch, ERG
and Loro Piana. Teams not returning
from last year are San Saba and
Texas Polo.
Ten of the world’s 14 10-goalers
(the sport’s maximum rating) are
scheduled to play in the tournament
– Mariano Aguerre (White Birch),
Javier Novillo Astrada (Las Monjitos),
Miguel Novillo Astrada (Bendabout),
Mike Azzaro (Catamount), Carlos
Gracida (Catamount), Bautista Heguy
(Pony Express), Nachi Heguy (ERG)
Pite Merlos (Lechuza Caracas),
Sebastian Merlos (Lechuza Caracas)
and Adam Snow (Airstream).
Memo Gracida, a 10-goaler for more
than 20 years who was elected to the
Polo Hall of Fame in 1997 as an
active player, has won a record 16
U.S. Open titles with nine different
teams, including last year with Isla
Carroll. His younger brother,
Carlos, is second with nine U.S.
Open crowns, including the 2003
championship. For the upcoming
tournament, Memo has signed on with
a new team, Airstream, while Carlos
will be playing again with
Catamount, which lost in the
semifinals in 2004.
Ten-goaler Adam Snow and 5-goaler
Carlucho Arellano join Memo Gracida
on Peter Orthwein’s Airstream, which
is considered one of the
pre-tournament favorites, in
addition to Catamount, Lechuza
Caracas and perennial powerhouse
White Birch, which has reached the
U.S. Open final three times without
winning.
Two teams – Catamount and Lechuza
Caracas – have a pair of 10-goalers
on their rosters. Carlos Gracida and
Mike Azzaro form the nucleus for
Scott Devon’s Catamount foursome
that reached the semifinals last
year.
Brothers Pite and Sebastian Merlos
will patrol the middle for Victor
Vargas’ Lechuza Caracas, a team that
reached the final in 2003 and the
semifinals in 2004
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Old Pueblo Snaps
White Birch’s 12-Game Win Streak with 12-11
Win; Both Advance to Quarterfinals of
Stanford Financial Group U.S. Open
Championship at International Polo Club Palm
Beach
By Y.A. Teitelbaum
Apr. 12, 2005
WELLINGTON, FL – Old Pueblo proved that
White Birch, the most dominant team of the
2005 26-goal season, isn’t unbeatable,
ending its 12-game win streak with a 12-11
victory Wednesday in the Stanford Financial
Group U.S. Open Polo Championship at
International Polo Club Palm Beach. The win
clinched a playoff berth for Old Pueblo.
In other Stanford Financial Group U.S. Open
action, Catamount topped Isla Carroll 12-9
behind five goals by 10-goaler Carlos
Gracida, 8-goaler Marcos DiPaola scored
seven goals to lead Loro Piana over Orchard
Hill 10-9 and 10-goaler Sebastian Merlos
scored seven goals to pace Lechuza Caracas
past Millarville 10-7.
White Birch, Old Pueblo and Catamount
finished with 3-1 records. Despite the loss,
White Birch still finished first in Division
III (because of the goal differential) and
clinched the No. 2 seed behind Division I
champion Skeeterville (4-0). White Birch is
+18, Old Pueblo is +4 and Catamount is –2.
“This is going to shake us up a little bit,”
said White Birch 10-goaler Mariano Aguerre.
“I still think we can beat everyone. In
order to beat everyone, we have to play like
we did in the first three games. If we play
like today (against Old Pueblo), Sunday (it)
will be over.”
White Birch’s opponent, the No. 7 seed, will
be determined on Thursday after the final
two first-round games. Old Pueblo’s seed
will also be determined on Thursday.
Nine-goaler Matias Magrini scored two goals
in the final three minutes of the fourth
chukker to give Old Pueblo a 9-8, a lead
they never gave up the rest of the game. Old
Pueblo led 12-10 with 2:42 left in the game
on Nacho Novillo Astrada’s goal.
White Birch cut the margin to 12-11 on Lucas
Criado’s goal with 1:10 left, but Aguerre
missed a short shot with eight seconds left
that would have sent the game into overtime.
“It feels good,” said Old Pueblo patron John
Hall after his team’s third consecutive
victory. “It’s a tough team as everybody
knows. They had opportunities. They could’ve
beat us just as easy as we beat them.
“It seems this team only plays when there’s
something to really play for. After we lost
to Catamount (in the first game), we’ve had
to play that way every game.”
Magrini finished with a team-high seven
goals while Astrada and Jeff Hall added two
goals apiece and John Hall scored one goal.
Criado led White Birch with five goals while
Aguerre added three goals, Julio Gracida
scored two goals and patron Peter Brant, in
his first game of the tournament, had one
goal. Brant left immediately after the game
to return to Greenwich to attend a friend’s
funeral, according to Aguerre.
Catamount’s victory put an end to a
disappointing U.S. Open for defending
champion Isla Carroll, which lost all four
games.
“We made a decision to come with a young
team,” said Isla Carroll patron John
Goodman. “Now that it’s over, we start
focusing on next year. We try and stick to
the plan. We need more discipline and we
have to follow through on what is said, and
that comes with maturity.”
Catamount’s victory virtually assured it a
spot in the quarterfinals with a 3-1 record.
“That was our goal, to get to the
quarterfinals and then we’ll see what
happens,” said Catamount 10-goaler Mike
Azzaro, who scored three goals.
Lechuza Caracas scored the first six goals,
four by Merlos, en route to a relatively
easy win. Lechuza’s victory assured them of
finishing second in Division I with a 3-1
record.
Loro Piana rallied from a 7-1 deficit,
scoring the game’s final five goals, to
register the victory. DiPaola’s goal with
2:50 remaining, proved to be the
game-winner. Loro Piana, with a 2-2 record,
has an outside chance to advance to the
quarterfinals, depending on Thursday’s
results.
Action in the Stanford Financial Group U.S.
Open continues Thursday with a doubleheader
beginning at 1 p.m. when Airstream (2-1)
plays Bendabout (2-1) followed by C Spear
(2-1) against Las Monjitas (1-2).
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Stanford
Financial Group 101st U.S. Open Championships
Are A Family Affair at International Polo Club Palm
Beach
By Y.A. Teitelbaum
Mar. 29, 2005
WELLINGTON, FL - The theme song for the upcoming
Stanford Financial Group 101st U.S. Open Championships
should be "We Are Family" with five sets of brothers,
two father-son duos and a brother and sister competing
in the most prestigious tournament in North America at
International Polo Club Palm Beach.
A record-tying 15 teams have entered the Stanford
Financial Group U.S. Open, which begins March 31 with
the final scheduled for Sunday, April 24 at 3 p.m.
The family names are legendary throughout the polo world
- Gracida, Heguy, Pieres, Merlos, Astrada.
Memo Gracida, who was a 10-goaler for more than 20
years, is perhaps the most recognizable name in U.S.
polo. At 48, Gracida already has won a record 16 U.S.
Open titles, including the 2004 crown, as he prepares
for the 2005 tournament while playing for Airstream. His
44-year-old brother, Carlos, a 10-goaler, has won nine
U.S. Open championships and will play for Catamount,
which reached the semifinals in 2004. Memo's 17-year-old
son, Julio, a 3-goaler, is playing in his first U.S.
Open with three-time finalist White Birch.
The family with the most members playing is the Novillo
Astradas with five brothers. Thirty-year-old Javier, a
10-goaler, and 9-goaler Eduardo, 33, form the nucleus
for Las Monjitas. Thirty-one year-old Miguel, a
10-goaler, and 7-goaler Alejandro, 23, are the core of
Bendabout. Twenty-six year-old Ignacio, an 8-goaler,
plays with Old Pueblo.
The three Merlos brothers are spread among two teams -
10-goaler Pite, 36, and Sebastian, 32, are the
foundation of Lechuza Caracas while 9-goaler Agustin,
27, is expected to lead C Spear.
The newest set of brothers, the 9-goal Pieres', are also
the youngest. Gonzalito, 22, and Facundo, 18, play for
Black Watch. The Arellano brothers are split - 8-goaler
Julio, 31, plays for Skeeterville and 5-goaler Carlucho,
25, rides for Airstream.
"They're amazing," said 28-year-old Nacho Figueras of
Black Watch, of his teammates, the Pieres brothers.
"They're the new (combination) who are going to win a
lot of tournaments. Facundo is very explosive and
Gonzalito has more calmness. All game, he plays at the
same high level."
Taking the family relationships a step further are the
Heguys. Eight-goaler Pepe Heguy, 37, is playing with
Loro Piana while his cousin, 10-goaler Bautista, 33,
leads Pony Express in search of its first U.S. Open
title.
The father-son combinations features John Hall, patron
of Old Pueblo, and his 25-year-old son, Jeff, one of the
highest-rated American players at 8 goals, along with
Memo and Julio Gracida.
Skeeter and Gillian Johnston are patrons of two of the
tournament's top teams, Skeeterville and Bendabout,
respectively. Gillian won the U.S. Open in 2002 as
patron of Coca-Cola while Skeeter most recently reached
the U.S. Open final in 2000 as patron of Everglades.
Nine of the world's 14 10-goalers (the sport's maximum
rating) are scheduled to play in the tournament -
Mariano Aguerre (White Birch), Javier Novillo Astrada
(Las Monjitos), Miguel Novillo Astrada (Bendabout), Mike
Azzaro (Catamount), Carlos Gracida (Catamount), Bautista
Heguy (Pony Express), Pite Merlos (Lechuza Caracas),
Sebastian Merlos (Lechuza Caracas) and Adam Snow (Airstream).
Historically, the U.S. Open has always been the grand
prize of polo in North America. It is one of only four
tournaments played at the 26-goal echelon, the
highest-rated tournament in the United States. The
others are the Hall of Fame Cup and the C.V. Whitney
Cup, both also played at International Polo Club Palm
Beach in 2005, and the USPA Gold Cup, being played in
Aiken, South Carolina later this year.
The U.S. Open will be played on the International Polo
Club Palm Beach's seven world-class Bermuda-grass
playing fields and teams may also take advantage of the
many private fields in Wellington.
For all the action on the field, there will that much
off the field, including the incomparable Sunday Brunch,
catered by renowned restaurateur Barton G. of Miami and
New York, which is open to the public. For the last two
weekends, tickets for brunch are $95 each and include
tax, gratuity and a reserved seat for the polo match.
Individual tickets for the U.S. Open tournament are $40
for terrace seating and $15 for general admission.
There will be several functions that are also open to
the public, giving them a chance to meet the players and
patrons, including the black-tie Polo Ball on Friday,
April 22.
For ticket information for the Stanford Financial Group
U.S. Open, please call the club at (561) 204-5687 or
visit the club's website at
www.internationalpoloclub.com. International Polo Club
Palm Beach is located at 3667 120th Avenue South,
between Pierson Road and Lake Worth Road, in Wellington.
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