United States Polo Association Announces 2015 USPA Girls’ Interscholastic Championship Finalists

LAKE WORTH, Fla. - Feb. 24, 2015 - PRLog -- The United States Polo Association® (USPA) today announced that the field of 22 girls’ interscholastic teams that began the regular season and have competed in USPA sanctioned tournament play in pursuit of becoming the 2015 interscholastic champion has been narrowed to this season’s final four.   Western Region champion Central Coast Polo Club of San Luis Obispo, California, Central Region champion Houston Polo Club of Houston, Texas, Southeastern Region champion Maryland Polo Club of Freeland, Maryland and Northeastern Region champion Toronto Polo Club of Toronto, Ontario, Canada will take the field at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California on March 5-7 to determine the winner of the Dan and Julia Colhoun trophy, which has signified polo’s interscholastic champions since 1991.

All four finalist clubs were also finalists in last year’s tournament, in which reigning champions Maryland Polo Club emerged victorious over runner-up Central Coast Polo Club.   12 of the 18 girls playing in this year’s finals also have the experience of playing in the 2014 finals, including the entire defending champion Maryland team.

“The Girls’ National Interscholastic tournament is always a favorite, witnessing the athleticism and sportsmanship that these young ladies exude is inspiring,” said Amy Fraser, Director of Interscholastic and Intercollegiate Polo.  “The competition continues to get stronger and stronger each year, and we are very excited about the future of our sport."

The USPA Girls’ Interscholastic Championship finalist team line-ups are:

Central Coast Polo Club (Western Region Champion)

Jillian Tietje, age 17

Trista Noland, age 16

Petra Teixeira, age 13

Cassidy Wood, age 12

Coach: Megan Judge

Houston Polo Club (Central Region Champion)

Courtney Price, age 16

Nora O’Neill, age 17

Lauren Rae, age 17

Megan Rahlfs, age 16

Cinderella Von Falkenhausen, age 16

Grace Mudra, age 11

Coach:  Mark Prinsloo

Maryland Polo Club (Southeastern Region Champion)

Marissa Wells, age 18

Stephanie Shultz, age 15

Maddie Grant, age 15

Abbie Grant, age 14

Coach:  Kelly Wells

Toronto Polo Club (Northeastern Region Champion)

Clare Hearn, age 15

Jessica Friedberg, age 18

Molly Houlton, age 15

Samantha Hussey, age 17

Coach:  Tim Holton

Match Schedule and Venue:

Semi-final matches will be played on Thursday, March 5, with Maryland Polo Club vs. Houston Polo Club at 4:00pm PST followed by Central Coast Polo Club vs. Toronto Polo Club at 6pm PST.  The consolation match between the losing quarter finalists will be played on Friday March 6 at 5:00pm PST.  The championship final between the winning quarter finalists will be played at 10:00am PST on Saturday, March 7.   All matches will be played at Empire Polo Club, 81-800 Avenue 51, Indio, California.

About the United States Polo Association ® Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Program

The United States Polo Association runs over 30 tournaments annually through its Intercollegiate/Interscholastic (I/I) program, whose mission is to promote and grow the sport of polo by providing maximum exposure to the sport, recruiting collegiate and scholastic institutions, coordinating activities of member schools and players, providing for organized competition including sponsoring and administering regional and national tournaments with an emphasis on sportsmanship, fairness and safety, and by effectively utilizing funding for the benefit of I/I activities.   More information about the USPA’s I/I program is available on its Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/iipolo.

About the United States Polo Association ®

Founded in 1890, the United States Polo Association (USPA) is the national governing body for the sport of polo in North America and is the second oldest sport governing body in the United States preceded only by the United States Tennis Association. With nearly 300 member clubs and 40 national tournaments, the USPA governs polo handicaps, tournament rules and safety regulations, to ensure the welfare and being of both pony and player. Funded by sales from the officially licensed consumer brand, U.S. Polo Assn., the USPA purposefully re-invests revenue by underwriting numerous development programs to expand and sustain the sport of polo. For more information please visit www.uspolo.org.