In my haste to move forward with the staging of the Miami Beach Polo World Cup, I overlooked proper coverage of the firstannual South Beach Women’s Polo Cup that was played on the sands of Miami Beach. The enthusiasm of the players was onlu surpassed by their skills on the sand, a delightful treat for veteran or novice.
By Alex Webbe
Billed as the “highest rated player” in women’s polo, Sunny Hale did little to tarnish that reputation scoring six of her Equus Builder team’s eight goals in the tournament, but there were a number of other players you need to keep an eye on in future competitions.
Pink Polo’s Cecelia Cochran led all scorers in the tournament with seven goals (remember, that she scored seven goals in just four chukkers). Abby Riggs and Isabella Wolf were tied with Sunny Hale for second place in the scoring derby with six goals and Alina Carta scored four times. Kathleen Gannon broke loose in her first tournament while impressive showings were made by all.
In a two-bracket structure, eight teams played a series of two-chukker matches, culminating with two consolation matches and two championship matches.
Bracket A Bracket B
Equus (2-0) Nespresso (2-0)
Pali Capital (1-1) Bombay Sapphire (1-1)
GEICO (1-1) Pink Polo (1-1)
Grey Goose (0-2) W South Beach (0-2)
Nespresso opened the inaugural event with an offensive burst that had Pink Polo checking their mallets. Nespresso jumped ahead 3-0, on two goals from Cariane Hoffie and a single goal from Isabella Wolf. Two more second chukker goals from Wolf was all Nespresso needed to coast to a 5-1 win. Cecelia Cochran spoiled the shutout with a goal in the second chukker.
In the day’s second match-up, Bombay Sapphire relied on Tara Lordi’s first chukker to carry the game while a determined defense kept W South Beach and the “girls from Brazil” off the scoreboard for a 1-0 win. It was the first time any of the women had played on the beach before, and there were lessons that had to be learned quickly.
Sunny Hale showed her talents by scoring four goals in the first chukker of the Equus-Grey Goose game as they rode off with a 6-3 win. Kathleen Gannon scored twice in the win with Grey Goose getting two goals from Laura Willson and a single goal from Jennifer Williams.
In the fourth “mini-match” of the day, Alina Carta scored three goals fro Pali Capital in the first chukker that held up for a 3-2 win over a game GEICO trio that got single goals from Angenita Grande and Abby Riggs. Riggs later admitted that she was still recovering from her flight in from California and planned on giving a better accounting of herself in the next match.
Pink Polo rebounded from an inauspicious start by scoring a one-sided 8-1 win over W South Beach. Cecelia Cochran scored four of her game high six goals in the first chukker. Libby Scripps scored single goals in both the first and second frame. Paula Chermont accounted for W’s only goal, but it must be said that the “girls from Brazil” were at a disadvantage with some of their mounts in this contest. “Where’s a whip,” pleaded Chris Habib as she was trying to get her mount to chase the ball.
Grey Goose looked to get in the winning column against GEICO, but California’s Abby Riggs had other ideas. Trailing Grey Goose 2-1 after the first chukker on goals from Laura Willson and Jennifer Williams, Riggs scored four second chukker goals in the 5-2 win. Riggs was also responsible for GEICO’s first chukker goal while teammates Melissa Hornung and Angenita Grande played aggressive defense throughout.
In the finals of Bracket B, Nespresso charged onto the arena floor and didn’t let up until it has secured a 5-1 win over an out-gunned Bombay Sapphire team that found its way to the finals on the strength of a 1-0 win over W South Beach. Isabella Wolf scored three times in the win. Laura Grindley and Cariane Schaffer added single goals in the victory. Tara Lordi scored for Bombay Sapphire.
A great deal of excitement surrounded the Bracket A championship match. Sunny Hale’s Equus team would meet Alina Carta and Pali Capital in a contest everyone thought would be an offensive bonanza. That was not the case. Hard checking and disciplined defense had Equus up 1-0 after the first chukker on a goal from Hale. Carta tied it at 1-1 in the second period, but Sunny Hale finally managed to break free and score the winning goal for Equus in the hotly contested 2-1 win.
In a poll taken by the players, Alina Carta was named MVP (Hale had asked to be removed from the secret ballot) in Bracket A competition. Isabella Wolf took MVP honors in Bracket B play.
Wisteria, played by Kathleen Gannon and owned by Katherine and John Gobin, was named Best Playing Pony.
With their tournament completed, the girls were ready to party through the weekend as the 2009 Miami Beach Polo World Cup was set to begin the following day, and party they did!
Women’s Tournament Scores
April 30, 2009
Game 1: Nespresso 5; Pink Polo 1
Game 2: Bombay Sapphire 1; W South Beach 0
Game 3: Equus 6; Grey Goose 3
Game 4: Pali Capital 3; GEICO 2
Game 5: Pink Polo 8; W South Beach 1
Game 6: GEICO 5; Grey Goose 2
Bracket Finals B: Nespresso 5; Bombay Sapphire 1
Bracket Finals A: Equus 2; Pali Capital 1
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Women’s Tournament MVPs
Bracket A: Alina Carta of Pali Capital
Bracket B: Isabella Wolf of Nespresso
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Women’s Tournament Best Playing Pony
Wisteria; played by Kathleen Gannon of Equus