The United States Polo Association Announces 2015 USPA Open National Interscholastic Championship

LAKE WORTH, Fla. - March 9, 2015 - PRLog -- The field of 38 interscholastic teams that began the regular season and have competed in United States Polo Association® (USPA) sanctioned tournament play in pursuit of becoming the 2015 interscholastic champion has been narrowed to this season’s final seven.   Western Region champion Poway Polo Club of Poway, California, Central Region champion Prestonwood Polo Club of Oak Point, Texas, Southeastern Region champion West Shore Polo Club of Owings Mills, Maryland and Northeastern Region champion Toronto Polo Club of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as well as wildcard selections Eldorado Polo Club of Indio, California, Houston Polo Club of Houston, Texas, and Country Farms Polo Club of Medford, New York will take the field at the ERG Arena in Brookshire, Texas on March 11-15 to determine the winner of the George C. Sherman trophy, which has signified polo’s interscholastic champions since 1928.   Teams in this tournament can consist of both male and female players.

All but Houston and Country Farms Polo Clubs were also finalists in last year’s tournament, in which the Natania Polo Club of Virginia defeated Toronto Polo Club for the championship.  12 of the 28 players going to this year’s finals also have the experience of playing in the 2014 finals.

“The competition in 2015 is fierce for the Open Interscholastic polo program!  With 4 regional winners and 3 wildcard teams selected for a total of 7 teams in this year’s competition, hold on to your horses, it’s going to be a great show!” Amy Fraser, the United States Polo Association’sDirector of Interscholastic & Intercollegiate Polo.

The 2015 USPA Open National Interscholastic Championship finalists’ rosters are:

Poway Polo Club, Poway, California (Western Region Champion)

Ali Mobtaker, age 16

Molly Agee, age 15

Theo Anastos, age 16

Skyler Dale, age 14

Coach: Billy Sheldon

Prestonwood Polo Club, Oak Point, Texas (Central Region Champion)

Vaughn Miller Jr., age 15

Vance Miller III, age 13

Ronnie Puente, age 16

Coach:  Vaughn Miller

West Shore Polo Club, Owings Mills, Maryland (Southeastern Region Champion)

Ben Lynch, age 17

Tommy Huber, age 16

George Hempt, age 17

Jackson Bennett, age 16

Jack Magrudger, age 16

Coach:  Cindy Halle

Toronto Polo Club, Toronto, Ontario (Northeastern Region Champion)

Tyler Sifton, age 16

Braedan McComb, age 17

Mich Ward, age 16

Ryan Watchorn, age 16

Coach:  Scott Weir

Eldorado Polo Club, Indio, California (Wildcard Selection 1)

Hank Uretz, age 18

Xander Deutsch, age 17

Rhandy Heredia, age 15

Coach: Claudia Uretz

Houston Polo Club, Houston, Texas (Wildcard Selection 2)

Sloan Stefanakis, age 16

Grayson Price, age 13

Pierce Anon, age 17

Anson Moore, age 14

Coach: Mark Prinsloo

Country Farms Polo Club, Medford, New York (Wildcard Selection 3)

J.P. Vasquez, age 16

Emma Joinnides, age 15

Jed Cogan, age 15

Oliva Wall, age 17

Chris Jordan, age 17

Coach: Bob Ceparano

Match Schedule and Venue:

Opening round matches will be played on Wednesday, March 11, with Eldorado Polo Club vs. Toronto Polo Club at 3:00pm CST followed by Prestonwood Polo Club vs. Country Farms Polo Club at 5pm CST, and Poway Polo Club vs Houston Polo Club at 7pm CST.  The semi-finals will be played on Friday, March 13 with West Shore Polo Club playing the winner of the Eldorado-Toronto match at 3pm. and the other two opening round winners playing at 5pm.  The consolation match between the losing semi-finalists will be played on Saturday March 14 at 1:00pm.  The championship final between the winning semi-finalists will be played at 10:00am on Sunday, March 15.   All matches will be played at ERG Arena, 800 Wilpitz Road, Brookshire, TX

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.