Maryland’s Marissa Wells named to the All Star squad.
The United States Polo Association® (USPA) today announced that the Maryland Polo Club of Freeland Maryland defeated the Central Coast Polo Club of San Luis Obispo, California 22-7 to win the Dan and Julia Colhoun Trophy as USPA Girls Interscholastic Champions yesterday at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.
The championship match was a repeat of 2014’s Girls Interscholastic Championship finals in which the Maryland team of Marissa Wells, Stephanie Schultz, Maddie Grant and Abbie Grant also prevailed over Central Coast.
The competition was fast and furious among the four teams that qualified for the Girls’ National Interscholastic tournament this year. In the first semifinal game we saw Southeastern Regional winner Maryland with a 25-5 victory over the Central Regional winner, Houston Polo Club. The second semifinal game pitted the Western Regional winner, Central Coast Polo Club vs the Northeastern Regional winner Toronto Polo club with a final score of 15-7, in favor of the west. The consolation game had Toronto and Houston battling it out each chukker for possession of the score board. With a buzzer beater of a goal from Houston, the final score ended in a tie. In lieu of a shootout to determine the winner, the teams opted to shake hands and call it a night!
The final game of the tournament showcased a repeat of the 2014 Girls National finals, with Maryland Polo Club seeking a repeat win vs Central Coast Polo Club. Maryland came out with the first goal, and was matched by Central Coast. At half, Maryland had a four goal lead, but in the third, took a commanding lead with 7 goals scored that chukker to Central Coast’s 1. The final tally had Maryland’s Marissa Wells with a total of 17 goals to her name, and voted number 1 All Star for the tournament
Marissa Wells of Maryland, Jessica Friedberg of Toronto, Jillian Tietje of Central Coast and Courtney Price of Houston were awarded the All Star awards. Friedberg was also voted the tournament Sportsmanship Award winner. The horse Madonna, owned by Poway Polo Club was named Best Playing Pony, to join the Poway ponies as earning Best Playing String.
The championship culminated a season that began with 22 girls’ interscholastic teams seeking the Dan and Julia Colhoun Trophy, which has signified girls’ interscholastic polo’s champions since 1991.
“It was a pleasure to witness not only the horsemanship and sportsmanship displayed at the Girls’ National Finals, but also to observe the teamwork and how much the players have improved individually and as a team over the last year,” said Amy Fraser, Director of Interscholastic and Intercollegiate Polo for the United States Polo Association. It is evident of the hard work and dedication these players put into their sport year round.”