The United States Polo Association Announces 2015 USPA Girls’ Interscholastic Championship Finalists
Central Coast (California), Houston, Maryland, and Toronto Polo Clubs to compete for the Dan and Julia Colhoun Trophy March 5-7 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.
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 compete 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 in the indoor arena, 81-800 Avenue 51, Indio, California.