Catamount Edges White Birch 14-13 to Capture 26-Goal C.V. Whitney Cup Title Sunday at International Polo Club Palm Beach
WELLINGTON, FL (March 4, 2007) – Eight-goaler Nicolas Roldan scored on a 40-yard forehand with 36 seconds left to lift Catamount over White Birch 14-13 in the championship match of the 26-goal C.V. Whitney Cup Sunday on Stanford Field at International Polo Club Palm Beach.
White Birch won the ensuing throw-in and had a chance to tie the game but Lucas Monteverde’s shot was inches wide to the right with one second remaining.
“At the end of the game, my heart was in my throat,” said 9-goaler Adam Snow of Catamount, referring to Monteverde’s final run to goal. “We told each other not to foul them, but…”
It was Catamount’s second C.V. Whitney Cup title as it won it all in 2004 with a 10-9 victory over Bendabout. Catamount defeated Everglades in the semifinals in 2004. This year, Catamount again eliminated both Bendabout and Skeeterville, formerly known as Everglades, en route to the title.
“It felt like a great game on the field,” said Catamount patron Scott Devon, who played with a bandage covering 10 stitches in the corner of his left eye following an injury suffered in the first chukker of the semifinals. “It was a dream final.”
There were seven ties in the game, the last one at 13-13 when Monteverde converted a 15-yard penalty shot with 2:46 left in the game.
Both teams missed several scoring opportunities, especially in the second half.
Roldan missed a 60-yard safety early in the fifth chukker, but Monteverde missed a 40-yard penalty shot with 1:09 left in the same period as Catamount took a 13-12 lead into the final chukker.
Roldan missed two more chances in the sixth as Catamount kept the pressure up – one on a near-side with 4:20 left and then on a 50-yard forehand that went wide left with 1:44 remaining.
But White Birch wasn’t able to dominate the throw-ins in the second half, cutting into their scoring chances. Snow said Catamount made a slight adjustment at halftime regarding the throw-ins.
“I went to (guarded) Mariano (Aguerre) in the second half and that helped us,” said Snow. “They were winning the throw-ins in the first half.”
This was the first tournament of the season for both teams, which reached the final with a 2-0 record after a first-round bye in the single-elimination event. Peter Brant’s White Birch had won the C.V. Whitney five times, the last time in 2005.
Snow, who captained the Yale varsity hockey team as a senior, brought his hockey mentality and superstitions to polo – he hasn’t shaved since the 26-goal tournament began. He said he wasn’t sure if he would shave or wait until the team loses. Snow has now won six consecutive 26-goal games; the last three to win the 2006 Stanford U.S. Open with Las Monjitas and three with Catamount.
“This is our first tournament with Scott (Devon) and we’re ecstatic to win,” said Roldan. “We kept fighting the entire game. To beat a team like White Birch, one of the best in the United States, shows that as a team we have a lot of potential.”
Catamount’s balanced attack proved beneficial again, as Roldan, Snow and Zegers scored four goals apiece and Devon added two goals.
Monteverde led all scorers with eight goals, six on penalty conversions, while 10-goaler Mariano Aguerre added four goals and Ulysses Escapite had one goal. Patron Peter Brant did not score.
Roldan was named the MVP and Aguerre’s 9-year-old Califa was awarded the Best Playing Pony award.
“I thought they played well,” said Aguerre.
The C.V. Whitney tournament, first held in 1979, is named in memory of Cornelius Vanderbilt “Sonny” Whitney, who along with his cousin John Hay Whitney, were important polo patrons in the 1930’s. The son of Hall of Fame patron Harry Payne Whitney, C.V. won the U.S. Open three times (twice against his cousin), and was a renowned owner and breeder of thoroughbred racehorses.
Polo’s version of March Madness continues next week with the start of the 26-goal USPA Piaget Gold Cup. The USPA Piaget Gold Cup final is set for Sunday, March 25 at 3 p.m.
The polo matches at International Polo Club are open to the public. General admission for the Sunday games at International Polo Club Palm Beach is $10 for adults. Children under 3 enter for free. Tickets may be purchased at the gate on the day of the game or in advance at the stadium box office.
Major sponsors at International Polo Club Palm Beach for the 2007 season include Stanford Private Wealth Management, Piaget, Bombardier Aerospace, Bessemer Trust, Westwind Realty, LLC, Panera Bread, Cartier, CityPlace, Florida Coast Equipment, The Mall at Wellington Green, Omar Trevino Bloodstock, Inc., Palm Beach Daily News, Palm Beach Illustrated, Palm Beach Post, Ritz Carlton Palm Beach, Roederer Estates, The Wellington Institute, Van Cleef and Arpels, Yamana Gold Inc. and Jim Corbin Illustrated Properties.
International Polo Club Palm Beach is located at 3667 120th Avenue South, between Pierson Road and Lake Worth Road in Wellington. For information, directions or ticket purchases, please call the club at (561) 204-5687 or visit the website at www.internationalpoloclub.com.
Sunday’s result
Championship Match
Catamount 14, White Birch 13
Past Champions
2007 – Catamount
2006 – Jedi
2005 – White Birch
2004 – Catamount
2003 – Las Monjitas
2202 – Lechuza Caracas
2001 – White Birch
2000 – White Birch
1999 – Lechuza Caracas
1998 – Pony Express
1997 – Bud Light
1996 – White Birch
1995 – White Birch
1994 – Calumet Farm
1993 – BTA
1992 – Millarville
1991 – Fort Lauderdale
1990 – Michelob
1989 – Fort Lauderdale
1988 – Fort Lauderdale
1987 – Maui
1986 – Carter Ranch
1985 – Texas Lone Star
1984 – San Antonio
1983 – San Antonio
1982 – Southern Hills
1981 – Fort Lauderdale
1980 – Tulsa
1979 – Tulsa