Aspen Valley Polo Club, making its high goal debut at International Polo Club Palm Beach on Sunday, won the Hall of Fame Cup with an 11-8 victory over FlexJet.
The subsidiary game of the 111th U.S. Open, presented by the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, is an annual fundraiser for the museum located in Lake Worth.
The two teams were evenly-matched from start to finish.
Aspen Valley, a 20-goal team, featured Grant Ganzi, a junior at St. Andrew’s School and at 16, the youngest player in the high goal game; Juancito Bollini, 2 goals, Sebastian Merlos, 9 goals and Nic Roldan, 8 goals.
The lineup for FlexJet, a 21-goal team, was Leo Mandelbaum, 3 goals, Kris Kampsen, 6 goals, Piki Alberdi, 7 goals, coming off his MVP performance for Psycho Bunny in the final of the Grand Champions Cup at Grand Champions Polo Club, and Juan Bollini, 5 goals.
Juancito Bollini, 19, a sophomore at Florida Atlantic University, was named Most Valuable Player. Yeti, 8-years-old, owned by Halo Polo and ridden by Bollini, was named Best Playing Pony.
“I love Melissa’s (Ganzi) horses and getting the BPP award is always good,” Bollini said. “They are trained well and if you play them well and show people they are good horses it reflects well on you as a player.
“Playing against my dad was fun,” Bollini said. “You get to show off what he has taught you through the years. I was really happy with the game. I love playing on these fields, they are amazing. And my teammates, playing with Sebastian, Nic and Grant is just an honor.”
Aspen Valley, playing well together with a new lineup, took the lead (3-1) in the opening chukker and never relinquished it.
Despite being shut out (1-0) in the second chukker, Aspen Valley led 3-2, 4-3, 6-4 and 8-6 in the remaining chukkers with balanced scoring. Ganzi and Bollini each had three goals. Merlos and Roldan each had two. One goal was picked up on handicap.
“This was a nice way to end the IPC season with the boys,” said Roldan, a Cardinal Newman alum. “Have some fun on a good field in beautiful weather.
“The Hall of Fame Cup is great to play in and has a lot of history. The game was competitive but fun. It got a little toasty at the end.”
It was Ganzi’s second consecutive Hall of Fame Cup title. In last year’s final, Ganzi, then 15, scored the winning goal to lead Audi to a 9-8 victory over Flight Options and finished with a game-high five goals.
“We had to earn it, it was a really open game with everyone going and running,” Ganzi said. “I never played with Sebastian before but he was a really nice teammate and it was fun to play with him and the guys.
“It’s been a great season and this was a nice way to end it,” Ganzi said.
Merlos, who finished his high goal season with Las Monjitas, was a last-minute replacement for Miguel Novillo Astrada.
Grant Ganzi of Aspen Valley Polo Club competes on his second consecutive Hall of Fame Cup winning team. Photo by Rob Bowman
“It was very good fun playing with Grant and Juancito, the kids,” Merlos said. “Our team went well. These guys are young and have good potential. They want to do this, they have a passion for the sport so it’s good to play with players like this.
“The game was very competitive,” Merlos said. “We played open and not a lot of fouls. It was friendly but also fast and good polo.”
Team sponsor FlexJet has been a member of the Directional Aviation family of companies since 2013. They are committed to creating premium travel experiences and providing access to the most modern, technologically-advanced aircraft in the industry on a daily basis, going above and beyond world-class private travel experiences.
Chukker TV.com live streamed the final around the world. The leader in polo broadcasting has live streamed all high goal tournaments at IPC. Since January 2004, ChukkerTV has been live streaming and handling instant replay and team challenges with state-of-the-art technology.
In addition, Chukker TV live streams various Grand Champions Polo Club tournament games, other U.S. tournaments and offers re-broadcasts, Video On Demand and player interviews.
2015 POLO ON DEMAND
Grand Champions Polo Club, featuring five world-class fields, has a full schedule of tournaments from January to May. Let our polo experts create a turn-key experience including top pros to bring out the best in you and your team. Lessons are available.
16-GOAL TOURNAMENTS: APRIL: John T. Oxley Memorial
12-GOAL TOURNAMENTS: APRIL: Museum of Polo & Hall of Fame Challenge Cup
8-GOAL TOURNAMENTS: APRIL: USPA Regional President’s Cup