By Alex Webbe

 

The 2009 Miami Beach Polo World Cup reached new heights with teams competing at the 12-16 goal level for the first time in the competition’s history.

The defending championship Audi team entered the fray with an altered lineup.  Canadian 6-goaler Brandon Phillips replaced the talented Kris Kampsen (7) in joining Melissa Ganzi and Juan Bollini.

Kampsen teamed up with Michael Liss and Nacho Figueras on the Black Watch/Nespresso team, but an accident to Liss on the eve of the tournament reshuffled the mix as 18-year-old Isabella Wolf from Middleburg, Virginia took the Number 1 position.

Black Watch/Nespresso opened the tournament’s fifth year of competition with a resounding 13-4 win over a offensively-challenged Comcast lineup that included Doug Barnes, Dominic State and Hobe Sound Polo club manager, Vincent Mesker.

To confirm her arrival on the high-goal scene Isabella Wolf accounted for three goals in the course of the four-chukker contest.

The defending championship Audi team found themselves on the short side of a 6-4 score as Lance Vetter’s Bombay Sapphire team got past the talented trio 6-4.  The final match of the day found Carlos Gracida leading a team from The Villages to a 10-9 win over Marc Ganzi and his Setai teammates Charlie Muldoon and Joey Casey.

Black Watch/Nespresso kept the ball rolling by scoring an impressive 11-6 win over The Setai to open the competition on the second day of play.  Bombay Sapphire ran up an 11-3 score over the hapless Comcast team while Audi rebounded to knock off the previously unbeaten team from The Villages 8-6.

Undefeated Black Watch/Nespresso (2-0) and Bombay Sapphire (2-0) had found their way to the finals of the 2009 Miami Beach Polo World Cup on the strength of impressive wins and great offensive exhibitions, but the finals were to be a much different affair.

Kampsen entered the finals averaging a tournament leading seven goals per game, and looked to be the standout of the beach play, but Bombay Sapphire had its own talented resources.  The veteran arena player and member of the 2009 US Camacho Cup team, John Gobin found great support in Luis Escobar, and together with Vetter managed to roll their way through the first two games.  The finals looked to be an extension of their earlier successes.

Kampsen got Black Watch/Nespresso on the scoreboard first, but two goals from Escobar and a third goal from Gobin had Bombay Sapphire up 3-1 after the first chukker of play.

Two more goals in the second chukker gave Bombay Sapphire sitting on five goals while Isabella Wolf’s single goal accounted for all of the Black Watch scoring as the half ended with Bombay Sapphire ahead 5-2.

The pace picked up in the third chukker with Kampsen and Figueras trying to find the magic they had displayed earlier in the tournament.  Kampsen’s three goals and near shutout defense by his teammates had Black Watch/Nespresso trailing 6-5 with a final chukker to play.

Kampsen scored the first goal of the sixth chukker to even it at 6-6 as both teams struggled to control the ball.

Hard ride-offs and great defense by both sides had the score tied until the final seconds of play.  Bombay Sapphire’s John Gobin stole the ball and managed to push it through the goal posts with 12 seconds on the game clock.  As both tams rode back to the center for the throw-in, time expired with Bombay Sapphire taking the 2009 Miami Beach Polo world Cup 7-6 to the delight of a cheering crowd.

John Gobin accounted for four goals in the course of the final game and was named Most Valuable Player in a vote by the players.  His 12-year-old Chestnut mare, Reina, received Best Playing Pony Honors that were presented by American Polo Horse Association president, Sunny Hale.

 

 

The Setai                                                        Audi

Marc Ganzi                  2                                  Melissa Ganzi               1

Charlie Muldoon           6                                  Brandon Phillips            6

Joey Casey                   6                                  Juan Bollini                   8

14                                                                                                                                        15

 

Black Watch/Nespresso                                Comcast/CGM

Isabella Wolf                1*                                Doug Barnes                4

Nacho Figueras            7                                  Dominic State               4

Kris Kampsen              7                                  Vincent Mesker            5

15                                                                                                                                        13

 

Bombay Sapphire                                           The Villages

Lance Vetter                1                                  Carlos Gracida 9

John Gobin                   7                                  Jim Parr                        3

Luis Escobar                8                                  Weston Gracida           3

16                                                                                                                                        15

 

*Isabella Wolf replaced Michael Liss, who was injured in an off field accident before competition began, and suffered a broken right hand.

 

Scores:

 

May 1

 

Game 1: Black Watch/Nespresso 13, Comcast/China Grill Management  4

 

Game 2:  Bombay Sapphire  6, Audi 4

 

Game 3:  The Villages 10, The Setai 9

 

May 2

 

Game 4:  Black Watch/Nespresso 11, The Setai 6

 

Game 5:  Bombay Sapphire 11, Comcast/China Grill Management  3

 

Game 6:  Audi 8, The Villages 6.

 

May 3

 

Game 7:  The Villages 8, Comcast/China Grill Management  3

 

Game 8:  Audi 6, The Setai  4

 

Game 9:  Bombay Sapphire 7, Black Watch/Nespresso 6