Tag Archives: USPA Beluga North America Cup

Phelps Media Group, Polo

Defending Champion Audi Plays Casablanca in Saturday Final of USPA North America Cup

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Piaget’s Piki Alberdi (3) follows the ball with Casablanca’s Jeff Hall (2) and Brandon Phillips (4) and Piaget’s Juan Bollini (4) and Melissa Ganzi (1) chasing Alberdi. Photos by Scott Fisher.

WELLINGTON, FL – Nov. 7, 2013 — Audi will defend its title against Casablanca on Saturday in the championship final of the USPA North America Cup presented by Beluga at Grand Champions Polo Club.

Audi, led by Nic Roldan’s game-high eight goals, led for most of the game to defeat Berlin Polo, 12-9, in Thursday’s first semifinal game.

In the second semifinal, Casablanca defeated Piaget with a thrilling 15-14 overtime victory. Fifteen-year-old Grant Ganzi, turning in the finest performance of his young career, scored a career-high eight goals including the game-winner at the 7:11 mark.

The championship game is Saturday at 4 p.m. after the Beluga-ELG subsidiary game at 2 p.m.

Casablanca will have its fourth sponsored team in a championship final this season at Grand Champions.

The highly-anticipated Grand Champions 20-goal season continues to live up to expectations with two more exciting games in the books.

Casablanca's Grant Ganzi (1) pulls up for the ball en route to scoring one of his eight career-high goals including the game-winner
Casablanca’s Grant Ganzi (1) pulls up for the ball en route to scoring one of his eight career-high goals including the game-winner

It didn’t take long for established Audi teammates Marc Ganzi, Carlitos Gracida and Roldan to make a smooth transition playing with 7-goaler Michel Dorignac who replaced Hall of Famer and former 10-goaler Carlos Gracida, who was competing in Mexico.

Audi had a 1-0 lead by handicap and was tied twice with Berlin Polo before regaining the lead on Roldan’s breakaway from midfield for a goal and 3-2 advantage.

Audi led by three at the half (7-4) and by as many as four goals (9-5) in the fourth chukker before Berlin Polo held them scoreless in the fifth chukker and came within one goal twice in the sixth chukker. Roldan’s two goals in the final two minutes put the game away.

Marc Ganzi scored Audi’s three other goals. For Berlin Polo, Jeff Blake led scoring with four goals, Sugar Erskine and Hector Galindo each had two goals and Moritz Gaedeke added one.

“There were a lot of times we were a little too optimistic,” Roldan said. “I think we tried to play a little more conservative. We were rushing ourselves heading to goal and struggled a little bit on defense but we picked it up in the end.

“We told ourselves just to relax a little bit more and it worked out,” said the 8-goaler. “We stuck to our game and that was it; that’s our strategy. We didn’t think about the way they came back and won against ELG. We just kept pushing. We knew they were a strong team and at some point would come back, but the idea was to stay focused on our own game.”

Roldan said Dorignac “jelled from the beginning” with the team. “That was nice,” Roldan said. “The chemistry was good. I have played with Michel before and he’s obviously a great player especially at back. Marc played great; Carlitos was amazing. As a team, we all just played well.”

Dorignac found out Monday that he would be playing with the defending champions.

“They had a good team from last year, all really good players, so all I had to do was play as simple polo as I could,” Dorignac said. “It was easy for me to adjust. It was great fun to play with them and great opportunity for me.

“I tried not to look at the score or worry about the team I was playing against. I just cared about our team. We knew they were going to come back at the end and we knew it was going to be tough. Casablanca has been winning everything and will be tough.”

After the semifinal pitted mother against son (Melissa and Grant Ganzi), the championship will pit father against son (Marc and Grant Ganzi).

Casablanca's Jeff Hall (2) winds up for the hit while Piaget's Tommy Biddle (2) tries to hook Hall and Mike Azzaro (3) out of the play
Casablanca’s Jeff Hall (2) winds up for the hit while Piaget’s Tommy Biddle (2) tries to hook Hall and Mike Azzaro (3) out of the play

In the second game, Piaget jumped out to 6-2 and 7-3 leads and led 8-5 at the half before Casablanca started to reel them in late in the four chukker, with Jeff Hall sparking the rally and Ganzi breaking loose and scoring at will with great passes from Azzaro and Brandon Phillips, including the game-winner assist.

With nine seconds left in regulation, Azzaro scored the tying goal to send the game into overtime and set up Ganzi’s heroics.

Azzaro scored four goals and Jeff Hall added three. For Piaget, Tommy Biddle had a game-high nine goals including three on penalty shots. Piki Alberdi added two and Juan Bollini and Melissa Ganzi each had one goal.

Grant Ganzi, a sophomore at St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, was recently named Casablanca MVP Amateur in PoloLine based on his fall season results at Grand Champions.

The three-day, six-team USPA North America Cup presented by Beluga is the first of two 20-goal fall tournaments at Grand Champions. The other 20-goal tournament is the Nov.13-24 USPA National 20-Goal Championship.

During the 2012 fall season, Audi dominated the season winning back-to-back USPA North America Cup and USPA National 20-Goal Tournament titles with Marc Ganzi, Carlitos Gracida, Nic Roldan and Carlos Gracida.

On Saturday Beluga Noble Russian Vodka and caviar will be served in the Beluga VIP tent during the post-tournament party.

Beluga Noble Vodka is produced in the heart of Siberia, one of the most ecologically clean in Russia.

Beluga Noble is refined in every way. Thanks to its unique production technology, including both innovations and centuries-old traditions, the flavor of Beluga Noble has an irreproducible smoothness.

All the ingredients of Beluga Noble pass through a strict system of purification and filtration, which guarantees the maximum level of purity and quality in the final product. Beluga Noble “rests” for 30 days.

The refined design of the bottle with hand-made elements perfectly reflects the nobility of Beluga Noble. On every one of the bottles there is one important feature, a small Beluga fish, traditionally fitted by hand, making every bottle unique.

GRAND CHAMPIONS FALL SCHEDULE

Nov. 5-9, USPA Beluga North America Cup
Nov. 8-10, Palm Restaurant Invitational
Nov. 13-24, The National 20-Goal Championship
Nov. 30, International Cup, Team USA vs. Chile

GRAND CHAMPIONS POLO CLUB

WHERE: 13444 Southfields Road, on the corner of South Shore Boulevard and Lake Worth Road, Wellington, 561-644-5050.

INFORMATION: There are great field side views for tournament action at the home base of pro teams Audi and Piaget. Everyone is welcome to watch high and medium goal polo in a relaxed atmosphere during the spring and fall tournament season and other special events including the International Cup in November, Buzz Welker Memorial Junior Tournament in March, Women’s Championship Tournament and Gay Polo League International Tournament, both in April.

Sharon Robb for Phelps Media Group, Inc. International

MEDIA CONTACT:
Phelps Media Group, Inc.
12012 South Shore Blvd #105
Wellington, FL 33414
561-753-3389 (phone)
561-753-3386 (fax)
pmginfo@phelpsmediagroup.com
PhelpsMediaGroup.com

Competitions, Polo

Piaget, Berlin Polo Advance into USPA 2013 Beluga North America Cup Semifinals

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Beluga’s Luis Escobar (3) and his pony lean into his shot with Piaget’s Juan Bollini (4) closing in on defense. Photos by Scott Fisher.

WELLINGTON, FL – Nov. 4, 2013 — On a windswept day at Palm City Polo Club in Boca Raton, Piaget and Berlin Polo advanced to the semifinal round of the USPA 2013 Beluga North America Cup.

In two fast-and-furious games, Piaget defeated Beluga, 9-8, in the first game of the quarterfinal doubleheader and Berlin Polo came from behind to defeat ELG, 11-9, to advance into Thursday’s semifinals.

Audi will play Berlin Polo at 9:30 a.m. and Casablanca will face Piaget at 3:30 p.m. Both semifinal games will be played at the Fire Station Fields in Wellington.

The championship game is Saturday at 4 p.m. after the consolation game at 2 p.m.

The highly-anticipated Grand Champions 20-goal season more than lived up to expectations despite the wind gusts between 20 and 30 miles per hour making it challenging in both games.

Piaget (Melissa Ganzi, Tommy Biddle, Piki Alberdi, Juan Bollini) and Beluga (Misha Rodzianko, Carlos Baez, Luis Escobar, Michael Dorignac) were tied five times in the first four chukkers before Piaget extended its lead to an 8-6 lead on a goal by Ganzi with an assist from Alberdi at the 4:21 mark of the fifth chukker.

Escobar scored early in the sixth chukker to cut Piaget’s lead to one goal (8-7), but Biddle’s penalty goal gave Piaget a two-goal lead until the final seconds when Escobar scored again.

“This was a very good way to start the tournament,” Bollini said. “It’s always nice to win, starting out slow with no double horses. We controlled the entire game and momentum. It was our fault that they came back. We slowed down a bit but we were still in control of the game.”

All eyes on the ball as Beluga's Michel Dorignac (4) pulls the ball out of the air with Piaget's Tommy Biddle (2) defending
All eyes on the ball as Beluga’s Michel Dorignac (4) pulls the ball out of the air with Piaget’s Tommy Biddle (2) defending

Biddle was a last-minute replacement for Jeff Hall whose travel plans were delayed. Biddle, who was headed to Aiken, S.C. to pick up his horses, got the word on Monday afternoon that he was playing with Piaget.

“It was fun,” Bollini said. “I usually don’t play two; usually I am the guy who is the quarterback. I went from being the captain to being the soldier.”

Added Bollini: “Tommy played fantastic today. He played the two position, which he doesn’t play much and didn’t complain. He was unbelievable, a true team player. We have a fun team.”

The lightning-quick Alejandro “Piki” Alberdi, an Argentine polo legend at age 50 rated at 8 goals, scored a game-high six goals with deft mallet play on both sides of the horse.

Biddle added two goals and Ganzi had one. Escobar led Beluga with four goals and Dorignac and Rodzianko each scored a goal. Beluga opened with a 2-0 lead by handicap.

“It’s always a good way to open a tournament with a win, especially with the wind,” Alberdi said. “The wind was very difficult to play. We have Juan Bollini, who is a big hitter, but today with the wind the ball goes everywhere.

“Instead of hitting big we had to control the ball more on the ground and I think it worked well,” Alberdi said. “I was very lucky today. I played beautiful horses from Melissa, the team passed the ball to me and I scored the goals. The team played very well together.”

Alberdi and Bollini, who grew up together in polo, played in England where they won the Gold Cup.

“Piki and I have been friends for a lifetime; we can play with our eyes closed,” Bollini said. “It is so easy to play with someone like that. I know where he is at all times because we have played so many years together.”

Ganzi was thrilled with the win even though it now pits her against her 15-year-old son Grant on Casablanca. “It’s very exciting for us and to win for Piaget,” Ganzi said. “It is a great team and we came together well.”

Rodzianko was hit on the forearm with a mallet with 1:37 left in the fifth chukker which stopped the game so he could be attended by paramedics. Rodzianko was able to return to the game but was icing afterwards. Beluga will play in Saturday’s subsidiary game.

Piaget's Melissa Ganzi (1) chases down Beluga's Michel Dorignac (4) as he tries maintain ball possession
Piaget’s Melissa Ganzi (1) chases down Beluga’s Michel Dorignac (4) as he tries maintain ball possession

“This is good polo, a very nice level,” Rodzianko said. “I think the difficult thing is switching teams every week and playing with different people. It’s a great experience and I am very thankful that the Ganzis put the season on. It’s an incredible opportunity for me. It’s cool I get to play at this level and get better. It’s always a pleasure playing with the legends like Alberdi.”

In the second game, ELG (Avery Chapman, Guille Aguero, Kris Kampsen, Carlucho Arellano) jumped out to a five-goal lead in the second chukker (6-1) and controlled the tempo for an 8-4 halftime lead in what looked to be a one-sided contest.

After a few adjustments, Berlin Polo (Moritz Gaedeke, Hector Galindo, Sugar Erskine, Jeff Blake) found its chemistry in the second half and started to mount a comeback while ELG collapsed.

Berlin Polo scored seven unanswered goals and held ELG scoreless for two chukkers before ELG was able to score its last goal late in the sixth chukker.

Erskine sparked the rally starting the fourth chukker off with a 60-yard penalty shot and then scored from the field to cut ELG’s lead to two (8-6). Blake added another goal to come within one (8-7).

In the opening minute of the fifth chukker, Erskine scored again to tie the game (8-8) and then put his team in the lead for the first time with a penalty goal late in the fifth chukker.

Erskine finished with six goals including three on penalty shots. Gaedeke and Galindo each had two goals and Blake added one.

Kampsen, playing his first tournament as a newlywed, led his team with four goals. Arellano had two goals and Chapman scored one.

ELG’s Guille Aguero escaped serious injury in the fourth chukker when his horse stumbled, threw Aguero and bolted off the field, returning safely to the warm, dry horse trailers.

The three-day, six-team USPA 2013 Beluga North America Cup is the first of two 20-goal fall tournaments at Grand Champions. The other 20-goal tournament is the Nov.13-24 USPA National 20-Goal Championship.

During the 2012 fall season, Audi dominated the season winning back-to-back USPA North America Cup and USPA National 20-Goal Tournament titles with Marc Ganzi, Carlitos Gracida, Nic Roldan and Carlos Gracida.

On Saturday Beluga Noble Russian Vodka will be served in the Beluga VIP tent during the polo doubleheader and post-tournament party.

Beluga Noble Vodka is produced in the heart of Siberia, one of the most ecologically clean in Russia.

Beluga Noble is refined in every way. Thanks to its unique production technology, including both innovations and centuries-old traditions, the flavor of Beluga Noble has an irreproducible smoothness.

All the ingredients of Beluga Noble pass through a strict system of purification and filtration, which guarantees the maximum level of purity and quality in the final product. Beluga Noble “rests” for 30 days.

The refined design of the bottle with hand-made elements perfectly reflects the nobility of Beluga Noble. On every one of the bottles there is one important feature, a small Beluga fish, traditionally fitted by hand, making every bottle unique.

Also this week is the Palm Restaurant Invitational (Friday and Sunday), the seventh and final medium-goal tournament at Grand Champions.

GRAND CHAMPIONS FALL SCHEDULE

Nov. 5-9, USPA Beluga North America Cup
Nov. 8-10, Palm Restaurant Invitational
Nov. 13-24, The National 20-Goal Championship
Nov. 30, International Cup, Team USA vs. Chile

GRAND CHAMPIONS POLO CLUB

WHERE: 13444 Southfields Road, on the corner of South Shore Boulevard and Lake Worth Road, Wellington, 561-644-5050.

INFORMATION: There are great field side views for tournament action at the home base of pro teams Audi and Piaget. Everyone is welcome to watch high and medium goal polo in a relaxed atmosphere during the spring and fall tournament season and other special events including the International Cup in November, Buzz Welker Memorial Junior Tournament in March, Women’s Championship Tournament and Gay Polo League International Tournament, both in April.

Sharon Robb for Phelps Media Group, Inc. International

MEDIA CONTACT:
Phelps Media Group, Inc.
12012 South Shore Blvd #105
Wellington, FL 33414
561-753-3389 (phone)
561-753-3386 (fax)
pmginfo@phelpsmediagroup.com
PhelpsMediaGroup.com