The defending 2015 East Coast Open Audi team-(L to R)-Miguel Novillo Astrada (MVP), Nic roldan, Juancito Bollini and Marc Ganzi, return to the Greenwich Polo Club to defend their title.
Riding in to the 2016 East Coast Open at the Greenwich Polo Club, the home White Birch polo team (Santino Magrini, Hilario Ulloa, Mariano Aguerre and Peter Brant) may be the odds on favorite this year, having already won the two previous 20-goal tournaments this year (the Monty Waterbury Cup and the Butler Handicap), but they are going to have to beat the defending championship Audi tem (Marc Ganzi, Nic Roldan, Sebastian Merlos and Leo Mandelbaum) to do it.
“I don’t think that Peter (Brant, the captain of the White Birch team and owner of the Greenwich Polo Club) wants to lose this year,” offered Audi team captain Marc Ganzi. I think that White Birch is going to be tough to beat this year,” he added.
It was an overtime goal by Audi that won the game for them last year, ruining a perfect high-goal season for White Birch who won both the Monty Waterbury Cup and the Butler Handicap earlier in the year, and snapping a 16 game winning streak.
This year White Birch swept the first two 20-goal tournaments of their season once again bating Goose Creek 11-9 in the final of the Monty Waterbury Cup and A Northwood team that played with three of the members from the Goose Creek roster, 11-9, and will be determined to end the season on a high note. The defending championship Audi team will be joined by six other teams who will try to spoil that dream.
In a Tuesday night draw the eight teams were divided into two brackets for preliminary competition:
BRACKET I
Postage Stamp Farm (Annabelle Gundlach, Salvador Ulloa, Brandon Phillips and Joao Paulo Ganon)
Airstream (Agustin Bottaro, Guille Aguero, Matias Magrini and Kris Kampsen)
Audi (Marc Ganzi, Nic Roldan, Sebastian Merlos and Leo Mandelbaum)
Tupungato (Luis Rinaldini, Santi Torres, Naco Taverna and Gaston Lisioli)
BRACKET II
Goose Creek (Maureen Brennan, Marcos Garcia del Rio, Tomas Garcia del Rio and
Mariano Gonzalez)
Faraway (Hutton Goodman/Bo Goodman, Inaki Laprida, Julian Daniels and
Pelon Escapite)
Beluga (Chris Brant, Nick Manifold, Francisco Elizalde and Tommy Biddle)
White Birch (Santino Magrini, Hilario Ulloa, Mariano Aguerre and Peter Brant)